


30 Day Solangelo Writing Challenge

by sunlightbender



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Ageplay, Alien Planet, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Love Simon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Mortal, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Space, Asexuality, Bad English, Baking, Baristas, Based on Love Simon, Campfires, Cell Phones, Confessions, Cuddles, Dom/sub Undertones, Dorks in Love, Doubt, Dragons, Fights, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hair Dyeing, Headspace, Innuendo, Laughter, Love, M/M, Makeup, McDonald's, Milkshakes, Nico di Angelo Speaks Italian, Nico di Angelo is a Cute Dork, Nico is a Dork, Nightmares, PDA, Porn With Plot, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Prince Nico, Prince Will Solace, Rich Nico di Angelo, Road Trips, Rock climbing, Royalty, Selfies, Sexual Tension, Shrinking, Sickfic, Smoking, Smut, Soulmates, Southern Will Solace, Storytelling, TINY - Freeform, Teasing, Three Days in the Infirmary (Percy Jackson), Underage Smoking, YouTube, Youtuber AU, adorableness, cheerleader Nico, ddlb, innocent Nico, littlespace, oneshots, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 19:05:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 30,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14171502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunlightbender/pseuds/sunlightbender
Summary: 30 days of my adorable gay boys being adorable gay boys.Day 1= Taking A Selfie TogetherDay 2= Sharing A MilkshakeDay 3= Grumpy Morning HeadsDay 4= Teasing and TouchesDay 5= Baking Together (Part 1)Day 6= Cheerleading PracticeDay 7= Three Days in the InfirmaryDay 8= Youtuber AUDay 9= Innocent NicoDay 10= Baking Together (Part 2)Day 11= Road TripsDay 12= Royalty AUDay 13= Wearing MakeupDay 14= Cheerleading Practice (part 2)Day 15= Love, Simon AUDay 16= English Second Language AUDay 17= Rock ClimbingDay 18= Baking Together (Part 3- Finale)Day 19= Soulmate AUDay 20= Cigarettes and CoffeeDay 21= Neighbour AUDay 22= Turning into a ToddlerDay 23= ShrinkingDay 24= Cuddles and Kisses and Sick DaysDay 25= Asexual! NicoDay 26= Giggles and Stories (Dorky Laugh)Day 27= LittlespaceDay 28= Another Royalty AU (Part 1)Day 29= Space AUDay 30= Another Royalty AU (Part 2)





	1. Day 1= Pictures of Us (Taking a Selfie Together)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [30 Day OTP Challenge FREO EDITION](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7238089) by [GoldenEmpire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenEmpire/pseuds/GoldenEmpire). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico's from the forties and he doesn't know why that strange object won't shut up.

Nico awoke to the ringing of an alarm clock, whining softly as he sat up. He didn’t even have an alarm clock, he didn’t ever really need to wake up early and the annoying noise they made irritated him.

 

He looked around for the source of the noise and only got more irritated as he couldn’t seem to identify it. There wasn’t a clock or watch anywhere in sight and yet the ringing was definitely coming from inside his cabin.

 

He stood up and walked around his cabin, and finally traced the noise to a small metal rectangle that was on the bedside table. Huh. He remembered Will bringing it yesterday and promising to show Nico how it worked today.

 

Nico poked it before hurriedly moving back as if afraid it would explode. When he deemed it safe, he slowly picked it up. It was black from all sides but it did have some buttons on the front and sides.

 

Oh. Perhaps this was some sort of miniature television. He hesitantly pressed the button on the front and watched in awe as the screen lit up, prompting him to shut off the alarm. He tried to press the buttons on the side and front again but no matter what he did, it wouldn’t shut off.

 

How did this stupid thing work? It was really starting to give Nico a headache with its unending ringing. Why couldn’t have Will closed the alarm before he left? Or why didn’t he take this thing with him when he left to go back to his cabin at night?

 

Nico just shoved the device under all the pillows he had to try to quieten it as best as he could before he went to shower and get dressed.

 

Once he was dressed, he pulled the device out from under the pillows and used his powers to make a shadow void box around it so that the ringing would no longer be audible, carrying it outside.

 

It was a sunny day, which Nico actually enjoyed. Contrary to what most people thought about him because of his powers, he was still an Italian boy, and he adored the sun. It warmed his skin and always gave him a mild glowy tan, which he was grateful for. He was glad he wasn’t like Jason, who turned as red as a lobster every time he stepped into the sun without sunscreen.

 

He headed to the dining pavilion, trying his best to not let the whispers and stares he heard and felt sting too much, quietly heading to the Apollo table. Rules had changed as of late, it wasn’t considered fair for anyone to have to sit alone, so cabins with less than three people were allowed to join other cabins tables.

 

The Apollo cabin had three tables, being that it was one of the largest cabins. Nico spotted Will at one of them, sitting in between all of the youngest Apollo kids and feeding them.

 

Nico’s lips twitched upwards for a moment. He couldn’t deny how adorable Will looked making whooshing noises as he fed the little kids, who squealed in delight as Will fed them. Perhaps someday…

 

He shook the thought out of his head and went to tap Will on the shoulder. Will turned to look at him, beaming and pulling him down for a kiss on the cheek, at which Nico flushed scarlet and gently pushed Will away, getting rid of the shadow void box and holding the ringing device out to him.

 

Will beamed at Nico and pressed a button before tapping the screen, the ringing stopping. Nico stared at Will in disbelief, whispering quietly, “How…? You don’t have electrical powers, you’re not a Hephaestus kid… or even a Zeus kid…”

 

Will raised an eyebrow at him, chuckling, “So? It’s just a cell phone, I kinda forgot it in your cabin. I was going to show you today, the Hephaestus cabin made it! Fully monster proof, though they’re still working on monster proof Wi-Fi. For now, it uses Ethernet, but the apps all work, and you can still take awesome selfies.”

 

Nico’s eyebrows furrowed. “This is a telephone…? Not a tiny television..? How does it work without a cord, where does the power come from? And what are all those things you said? Ethernet and Wi-Fi and… selfies?”

 

Will stared at Nico in shock as if though he were insane, huffing as he got up, handing Kayla his spoon and leaving her in charge of feeding the little ones as he dragged Nico off to the strawberry fields.

 

“Nico di Angelo, how do you not know what a selfie is?” Will exclaimed, Nico shrugging.

 

“I grew up in the forties.”

 

“But you’ve been in the modern world for what, five years now? And you’ve never heard of a selfie? All of the other stuff, go ask the Hephaestus cabin about, they can explain it better than me, but selfies? Sit your adorable butt down, we’re taking a ton of selfies together.”

 

Nico stared at Will in confusion though he sat down obediently as Will pressed a few areas on the phone screen before opening what seemed to be a mirror. Will held it up so both he and Nico were visible before beaming and pressing the screen once more.

 

There was a little clicking noise and Will beamed, looking proud of himself. Nico peered over his shoulder and couldn’t help but to gasp softly. This thing was some sort of magical camera too, it had their picture on the screen, though Nico couldn’t see where it would print out.

 

“And presto, there you go. Congrats, your first selfie and you look adorable.” Will announced.

 

“…you wasted your phone on an ugly picture of us?”

 

Will looked offended. “Hmmph. First off, it isn’t ugly, it’s beautiful and I love it. Secondly, phones don’t take only one picture, Neeks. I mean, even though we just got it yesterday, my entire cabin’s taken hundreds of selfies on this.”

 

Nico stared at Will in confusion, Will just smiling and showing Nico the pictures he had on his phone, most of them being of his siblings though a few of them were of everyone together. Only at the very end did Nico find two pictures, no- _selfies_ , of Will with a toddler perched on his hip, both of them beaming at the camera.

 

Nico found himself smiling at that, whispering to Will, “Print this one. And the one of us. I wanna stick it on my wall. Please.”

 

Will beamed widely at him and nodded, smooching Nico’s cheek and pulling him close. Nico was starting to understand the appeal of selfies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading the first day of this long journey. I did something similar last year and enjoyed it enough to try doing it again. This time I'm using prompts from drawthatshitt, but I don't really like a few of them, so if you have any suggestions, I might just try them! Or, if you have any headcanons you'd like me to feature, I might do that as well! Comments give me inspiration and kudos give me energy so do your girl a favor and comment and give kudos!


	2. Day 2= Sunshine and McDonalds (Sharing a Milkshake)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico always loves his boyfriend, especially when he's got McDonalds.

Nico was sitting with Hazel, Frank, Leo, Piper and Jason on a picnic blanket by the lake. He smiled as he watched Hazel and Frank shyly hold hands as Hazel told them. He sighed softly.

 

He missed Will. Will had been sent out to get infirmary supplies two days ago, and while Nico knew that he was probably fine- the route was safe, they rarely had monster attacks and Will’s scent as a demigod wasn’t all that strong anyways and Kayla had gone with him- he couldn’t help but worry anyways.

 

Still, Nico’s hair had grown out to his shoulders and the cool wind whipping through his hair wasn’t the most unpleasant. With the warm sun and cool wind and people he could tolerate near him, he was in a pretty good mood. His mood only improved as he saw Will running towards him with two giant shopping bags on his arms.

 

Nico laughed softly, expecting Will to only tackle him in a hug, but Will full on kissed him. Nico squeaked for a moment before melting into the kiss, turning bright red. He let Will kiss him for a few seconds before gently pushing him away, grinning widely at him.

 

“Hey. Missed you.” Nico whispered quietly, Will grinning widely at him as well as he sat down, putting down his shopping bags.

 

“Missed you too, Neeks.”

 

“Okay, I really didn’t miss that awful nickname.” Nico replied fondly.

 

Will chuckled, taking a McDonalds bag out of one of the shopping bags. “Aw come on. How could you hate the nickname someone who buys you McDonalds gives you, Neeks?”

 

Nico stared at him for a moment. He didn’t think he’d ever loved his boyfriend as much as he did right now. He stared at Will utterly sappily, Will taking out two Happy Meals and a chocolate milkshake. He handed one Happy Meal to Hazel and the milkshake to Frank.

 

Frank looked at him in confusion before silently speaking up, “…thank you and all, but I’m lactose intolerant. I can’t drink this. Haze, you want it?”

 

“Heavens, no. Nico bought me one once and it was far too sweet for me.” Hazel replied as she began to eat her cheeseburger, feeding Frank her fries, “Brother, you want it?”

 

Nico smiled and took the milkshake from Hazel, humming in thought as he began eating his chicken nuggets, “Sure. Won’t be able to finish it though. And I hate cherries. I’m not touching this until the cherry is off.”

 

Will huffed and plucked the cherry off, putting it in his mouth, giving Nico a suggestive look as he took a perfectly tied cherry stem out of his mouth. Nico rolled his eyes fondly, but felt his face go red nonetheless.

 

He put a straw into the milkshake, starting to drink it, finishing a few sips before he put it back down, getting to work eating his fries.

                                                                                                                                

* * *

 

 

Will took a few sips of the milkshake when Nico put it down. Nico didn’t seem to mind until Will stole one of his fries to dip into the milkshake, which was when Nico went off into a dramatic rant about how nobody loved him, how this was the most disgraceful form of betrayal and how he was going to run away.

 

Will just rolled his eyes fondly and handed the milkshake back to his boyfriend, kissing his cheek gently. Nico relaxed and sipped happily at the milkshake. It wasn’t until Will stole the milkshake again to sip at that Nico flopped over dramatically. Will laughed softly, smiling at him. His boyfriend was so beautiful. So beautiful.

 

Especially laying down like that with his hair spread out on the picnic blanket, the sunlight streaming down onto his face and making him look especially angelic. How some people managed to think that he was scary was beyond him. Nico was about as scary as a fluffy baby kitten.

 

Not that Nico wasn’t tough. That was another thing Will adored about him. He was tough as old boots. He was thick skinned, he didn’t care what anyone said about him. He could do anything, fight anyone who threatened him or someone he loved. It made Will feel utterly safe every time he was with him.

 

It was just that along with being tough, there was a certain tenderness to him, reserved for the people he loved and trusted, like his sister, Reyna, Frank and luckily, even Will. He still couldn’t believe that Nico had chosen him to be his boyfriend. He really didn’t feel qualified to be loved by the gorgeous boy in front of him.

 

Evidently, Nico had caught Will staring, blushing and pulling him down, hesitating for a second before taking Will’s hand and kissing it gently.

 

“You’re a sap, you know?” Nico declared quietly, “Buying me milkshakes and sharing them with me and looking at me like that.”

 

“Looking at you like what?” Will asked curiously, his spirits having lifted a lot at the fact that Nico had taken his hand without being prompted to do so.

 

“Like… you know. Like I’m something special.”

 

“You are something special though,” Will replied without any hesitance, giving Nico the bright, radiant smile Nico missed whenever he couldn’t see. Nico wondered why Will’s eyes always looked brighter when he was happy.

 

Nico flushed an even darker shade of red, whining loudly and shoving Will gently, “Oh, shut up! You big freaking sap!”

 

Will grinned widely. Nico was adorable. So so adorable. Will really, really wasn’t looking forward to having to leave him in a few minutes to go back to help out in the infirmary. He just wanted to stay here with Nico, trapped with him in this moment for all of eternity. He let out a happy sigh, closing his eyes, Nico turning to look at Will curiously again.

 

Will peeped an eye open, smiling at Nico, pulling him down for another gentle kiss before whispering, “You do realize that you’ve got an adorable little brown milk moustache, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm actually doing this! Comments inspire me, kudos fuels me, please leave lots of comments and give lots of kudos! Leave suggestions if you'd like in the comments, I'll consider using them but I can't promise anything!


	3. Day 3= Waking Up With You (Grumpy Morning Heads)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will thinks that his boyfriend always looks especially adorable when he's sleepy.

Will rose with the sun. Perhaps it was just a bonus feature of being a son of Apollo, perhaps it was just his nature, but Will always awoke when the sun peeked over the horizon.

 

He smiled as he looked over just to see a messy mop of brown, almost-black, hair peeking out from under the burrito he’d made around himself with the covers. Hmmph. Nico was such a blanket thief.

 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to waking up to this sight. He was sure he would never get tired of it. The sunlight was streaming in through the windows, only on Will’s side of the bed. Nico didn’t like the sun waking him up. He always complained that it was too harsh of an awakening.

 

It had taken them a lot of bed-moving when they’d first moved into their house together to find a spot that let the window stream in sunlight on only Will’s side of the bed. Will remembered their first day in this house.

 

He’d been telling Nico that, for gods’ sakes, they didn’t need a house, they were just going to college and could stay in a dorm. But obviously, Nico being the son of the literal god of riches, just ignored him and told him to come pick out furniture from a catalogue so he could send Jules Albert to go get them.

 

Now, Will couldn’t imagine living without the luxuries of the house. He loved having a gaming room, a giant plasma TV, a huge terrace with a great view, the giant kitchen he and Nico would cook and bake in, the endless zombie staff and of course, waking up to his boyfriend lying next to him (and sometimes, Mrs. O Leary trying to smush herself into the bed as well).

 

He stood up and straightened out his pillows only for Nico to sleepily roll over and starfish out onto the whole bed as soon as Will was out of it. Will rolled his eyes fondly and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower before getting dressed and getting his med textbooks into his backpack.

 

Nico was still fast asleep. Will tossed a pillow at him, making Nico whine but make no attempt at getting up.

 

“Nico-Neek-Neeks, time to get up, sweetheart. You’re gonna be late if you don’t get up and get dressed soon,” Will said as he went to gently shake Nico awake, “Nicoooooo, get up. I’ll eat all your pancakes if you don’t get up.”

 

Nico whined petulantly, pressing his face into the pillow and trying to push Will away, “Shoo, lemme sleep, ‘m tired…,” he mumbled.

 

Will chuckled, standing up and deciding desperate times called for desperate measures, pulling the blanket off of him and throwing all the pillows onto the floor, Nico letting out a wail of despair before sitting up, pouting. His hair was standing straight up, giving him an uncanny resemblance to some sort of a small bird or disheveled kitten.

 

Will couldn’t help but to giggle at Nico’s appearance which only resulted in Nico pouting even more and standing up, going to get changed and dressed, even taking the time to line his eyes with black though he still seemed half asleep when he exited the bathroom.

 

He wrapped the blanket around himself before shuffling downstairs, where the zombie chefs had prepared breakfast for them. Will sat down at the table, eagerly shoveling his face full of blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, maple syrup and honey while Nico just sipped tiredly at a cup of coffee with milk and sugar in it.

 

He blinked sleepily, Will frowning when he saw him reach into the kitchen drawer to pull out a fag packet and a lighter, taking one cigarette out and lighting it up, taking a long smoke of it.

 

“Nico…,” Will started quietly but stopped when he saw Nico’s expression, just letting the topic drop.

 

They finished their breakfast in silence, Nico grabbing his art portfolio before he followed Will out the door, walking with him to their college. The air was cool and Will found himself shivering. He seriously hated the cold.

 

Nico sighed softly and put out the cigarette before he threw it away, wrapping his arm around Will and pulling him close to try and give him what little body heat he had. Will smiled gratefully at him.

 

The morning wind gently lapping against their skin, the sun shining down on them, his boyfriend’s arm around his waist. Will couldn’t really argue with the fact that he was pretty content in this moment.

 

He hadn’t imagined when he was an eight year old, finding out his dad was a god who could have visited him any time but didn’t bother to, knowing his mother was too busy to take care of such a high needs child and too poor to be able to afford to not work or to have someone else take care of him, that one day he’d be happy.

 

He’d always imagined he’d die young. In his head, he could never have survived alone outside of camp. And yet, here he was. He was happy. He had his boyfriend’s arm around him as they walked to college together. He was safe. He was strong enough to protect himself, and Nico was more than enough backup protection just in case something happened to him.

 

The sun always seemed to shine just a tiny bit brighter when he was happy.

 

It wasn’t long before they reached the science building, Nico kissing Will gently, speaking in a gentle voice “I’ll see you after school, alright? I’ll be here waiting at two. See you later, have a great day, love you.”

 

Will just smiled at him, nodding and kissing him once more, hugging him tightly before he headed inside to his class. He was glad that everything that he had thought when he was a small child had all turned out to be wrong. He was glad he was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all know the drill by now. Comments and suggestions inspire me, kudos fuels me!


	4. Day 4= Teasing and Touches (Suggestion by Anon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Nico awakes to a head of red hair, he's pissed at the one person he knew had to have done this- his boyfriend. But Nico can never stay mad for long at Will, especially when Will knows exactly how to cheer him up.

What. The. Fuck.

 

When Nico walked into the bathroom in the morning, he had thought today was going to be a normal day of college. At least, until he went over to the sink to see his hair was dark red. He very nearly screamed.

 

He looked like a fucking MySpace emo from 2010. He absolutely hated it. Even more, he hated the fact that he wasn’t even the one who dyed his own hair. When he had gone to sleep last night, he was utterly sure that his hair was its usual black, just how he liked it.

 

There was only one person who could have done this to him, and that person was currently sitting in Advanced Anatomy class, probably with a huge geeky grin on his face as the teacher praised him for knowing the right answer to all of the strange medical questions he was asked, or for getting a full score on one of his tests again.

 

Nico hurriedly got changed, getting dressed into some black jeans, a grey top and a black hoodie, pulling it down to cover as much of his hair as he possibly could before storming off to his own class. He hoped nobody would notice his hair, he really did.

 

If anyone in his class noticed his hair, they decided it was best to stay away from him and not mention it. That was a smart move. He was so not in the mood to explain anything to them. Though, to be fair, not many people talked to him as it was, so perhaps this really didn’t have anything to do with the color of his hair.

 

The day passed, almost excruciatingly slowly. Nico couldn’t wait to get out of class and find a way to punish Will for what he did. When he finally stepped out of class at precisely two, his boyfriend was standing outside the door, waiting for him and trying not to giggle. Nico glared at him, huffing as he passed by him.

 

He spoke in faux anger, trying to make himself sound intimidating, “Fuck you. No more kisses or cuddles for you. Rot in hell.”

 

Will whined, pouting at Nico and running to follow him, “Nicooooo, you look adorable, come on. Don’t be mad at me.” Nico decided the best course of action would be to just utterly ignore Will.

 

How could Will possibly expect Nico not to be mad at him after what he had done to him? It was utterly ridiculous.

 

* * *

 

 

Will managed to last until dinner time. He tried his best to stay strong, but he needed boyfriend cuddles and kisses and love. He knew Nico wasn’t mad at him, not really, since he did see Nico smiling as he looked at his hair in the mirror. Will honestly just needed some attention.

 

He tried his best to be as nice to Nico as humanly possible, but Nico was like some kind of robot, managing to completely ignore Will, even when he offered to drive Nico to McDonalds.

 

Now this was uncharted territory. In his four years of dating Nico, he had never said no to McDonalds. Never. Will was starting to worry, his dramatic side flaring up. What if Nico never let Will kiss him ever again? Will had to do something, and fast.

 

As Nico headed to the dining hall for dinner, Will followed him, sitting down next to him once they had both gotten their food, resting his head on Nico’s shoulder. Nico didn’t push it off. That would be paying attention to Will, and Nico was trying to ignore him. Will had found a loophole.

 

He gently began tracing his fingers up and down Nico’s thigh, first halfway up his thigh and then slowly, higher and higher until it was awfully close to reaching his groin. Nico let out a choked sort of whine and just filled his mouth with pizza to quieten himself.

 

A few people from Will’s class joined their table for dinner, Will chatting happily with them, being sure to thicken up his southern accent just a tiny bit, feeling the fabric around Nico’s groin stretch slightly. Will grinned. He was winning this game, he had started to realize that. Under the table, he moved his hand onto Nico’s groin, getting to work gently massaging it, feeling him get harder and harder and his face get redder and redder the more he massaged.

 

Suddenly, Nico stood up, tying his jacket around his waist and mumbling something about having a bit of a fever before he hurried off to head back home.

 

* * *

 

 

Once Nico was back home, he ran to the bedroom, pulling his clothes off to free his length before he laid down on the bed and poured some lube onto his fingers. The room felt swelteringly hot, and the cool lube was a relief against his skin.

 

He spread his legs and got to work pushing one finger into himself, working it in and out until he felt ready to push another one in. That was about as far as he got before Will came into the room, grinning at Nico.

 

Nico didn’t even care about what Will had done to his hair anymore, he didn’t care enough to keep pretending to be mad or to refrain from touching or kissing Will. He didn’t care. All he knew right now, in his hormonal, horny state, was that he needed Will everywhere, all over him, inside him. Will had won the game, and Nico didn’t even care enough to be upset about this fact.

 

Will chuckled lowly as he walked over to Nico. Oh gods, he was in one of those moods. He was always so mean in this mood. Hot, yes, but mean. He gently took Nico’s hands, pressing a small kiss to his nose.

 

“No touching yourself, love. You know the rules of the game. Tell me if you need me to stop, alright? Now roll over, sweetheart, let the fun begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Anonymous for suggesting this! I altered it a tiny bit, hope you still enjoyed it! Guys, please leave me suggestions on what to write, or comments telling me what you thought! Constructive criticism is always appreciated, as are kudos and suggestions!


	5. Day 5= Sugar and Sprinkles (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Nico is assigned as Will's tutor to help him make up credit in Home Ec, Will takes it as an opportunity to get closer to Ms. Hestia's star student.

Nico didn’t really didn’t think it was fair that he’d have to tutor Will at baking for Home Ec just to be able to make up all the absences he’d had last semester so he wouldn’t have to retake any courses. How was it his fault that Will was utterly terrible at cooking?

 

“Ms. Hestia, c’mon, please? I’ll be careful not to be absent this semester. You can’t make me work with Solace. Especially not after school, he’ll burn my house down!” Nico pleaded his teacher, who just shook her head, giving Nico a sympathetic look.

 

“I’m sorry, Nico,” she said in a gentle voice, “I’m afraid you’re the only student in this class I actually trust enough to keep him from burning someone’s house down. Look, all I ask from you two is a B grade quality dessert. That’s all. You’re my star student, I’m sure you and Will could work together and make something that’s at least B quality. Now, keep an eye on your steak or it’s going to burn.”

 

Nico just sighed softly, faintly aware of Will’s eyes on him as he cooked his steak, being careful not to let it burn.

 

* * *

 

Will couldn’t believe his luck. He’d been paired up with Nico di Angelo. The Nico di Angelo. As in star student Nico di Angelo that Ms. Hestia adored and the reason why Will was failing Home Ec miserably. Well, one of the reasons.

 

Will was utterly awful at cooking, he was aware of that, but most of the time, he could at last make something edible. In Home Ec, however, he was always far too distracted, watching Nico cook, his long hair tied back, his face scrunched in concentration. That boy was utterly gorgeous, and the distraction that led Will to burning most of his dishes.

 

Will could drool over him any day, all day long, but Nico was anything but friendly to him. Will really, really hoped that it was just shyness because this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get Nico to like him.

 

Home Ec was Will and Nico’s sixth period class. Will knew Nico had a seventh period because Will’s nest friend, Cecil, shared seventh period with Nico. Will, however, didn’t have a seventh since he was in the school council which required he stay at school for two hours after sixth period from Monday to Wednesday. Today was Thursday, however, which meant this was Will’s last period but Nico still had another period to go.

 

* * *

 

Nico had gotten Will’s number at the end of sixth period. When he walked out of seventh period, he decided to text Will.

 

Nico: Do you want me to pick you up or do you want my address so you can get dropped over to my house when you’re done with student council?

Will: Don’t have student council today. Are you done with class? I’m waiting in the yearbook room.

Nico: You’re still at school? Fucking hell, you waited an hour? Whatever. I’m waiting in the parking lot.

 

Nico went to stand in the parking lot, Will coming running out a moment later, his face red, only making his freckles even more pronounced.

 

“Hey,” Will managed to say in between pants, “Are we walking back to your place or do you have a car?”

 

Nico raised an eyebrow at Will before speaking, “My chauffeur is here. His name is Jules Albert and he only speaks French and a little Italian, so there’s no point trying to talk to him.”

 

* * *

 

Will stared at him in shock as Nico led Will into a Bugatti Veyron. Damn. So the rumors were true. Nico really was loaded. Will knew from staring at car magazines with awe when he was a kid that this car must have cost at least a couple of million dollars.

 

Nico calmly put his backpack and gym bag up on the seat despite the bottom of his gym bag being covered in dirt and grass and sweat. He must even be richer than the rumors said, if he could afford to be so lax with his treatment of this gorgeous car.

 

Speaking of gorgeous… Nico leaned back against the seats, putting his muddy sneakers onto the center console of the car, closing his eyes and putting his earbuds in.

 

Will could hear the music Nico was listening to. It was so much softer than what Will had expected. With how punk Nico was with his piercings and long hair and eyeliner and dark clothes, Will had expected him to listen to metal. Like Marilyn Manson or something like that. Best case scenario, Fall Out Boy. Instead, the music Will could hear playing from Nico’s phone was soft, gentle, kind, Italian.

 

Was his Italian really that good? Will had heard Nico swear in Italian a few times just so he wouldn’t get in trouble for swearing, but he had no idea that Nico was fluent.

 

Will grew increasingly uncomfortable. He could feel himself sweating and he really didn’t want to sweat all over these posh leather seats. Did he smell? He really hoped he hadn’t sweat through his deodorant and started to smell. Damn dollar store deodorant.

 

He began to fidget, his ADHD starting to act up from anxiety and lack of stimulation. This was his one chance to talk to Nico di Angelo and yet he was completely ignoring him as if though he didn’t even exist. Maybe Nico thought he was too good to talk to Will. He wasn’t wrong. Nico was far far richer than Will was. Nico’s car probably cost more than his Ma had ever made in her life.

 

And then, as the car turned in to a private housing complex, and into the driveway of a literal goddamn mansion (though it really looked more like a castle), Nico pulled out his earbuds and grabbed his bag, grinning as he spoke, “Finally. We’re home. Come on inside, Will, I’ll grab us a snack before we start work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I loved writing this, it's definitely going to have a part two and maybe three in the near future. Please please please leave me your suggestions and comments and kudos!


	6. Day 6= Cheerleading Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suggestion by MelancholicSeer (https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelancholicSeer/pseuds/MelancholicSeer) Highschool au with cheerleader nico, maybe? Suggestive themes/smutboptional

It was too hot for practice. It was nearly a hundred degrees outside and yet, the entire cheerleading squad was still forced to practice outside in the blazing heat. Nico didn’t even want to be a fucking cheerleader, but the cheer squad needed some boys since they couldn’t convince any of the strong girls to be at the bottom of the pyramid. So Hazel had come practically begging Nico to join because she hated being at the bottom of the pyramid because people were heavy and it hurt, and to this day, Nico had never learnt to say no to his little sister.

 

So here he was, on a blazing hot Saturday morning, holding up a pyramid of loud, annoying girls (excluding Hazel, she could never annoy him) when he should be at home, playing Mythomagic Adventures on his PlayStation and eating French fries. He was sure a lot of boys would love an opportunity like this, holding up giggly, pretty girls with short skirts, but he was personally gay as all hell and hated physical contact, so he was just very uncomfortable.

 

As they got ready to get into their next formation, a large group of boys came running onto the fields, clad in bright orange shirts, white shorts and white cleats, all muscle and smiles. Hazel beamed widely, waving wildly at Frank, her boyfriend. Nico did his best to give him a threatening look. He didn’t want him to get too comfortable.

 

Drew, their head cheerleader scowled at that, calling a time out and running off to go talk to Jason, the captain of the soccer team. He sighed as he went to go sit on the bleachers in between Mitchell and his sister, Piper.

 

“Hope the field isn’t double booked again,” Mitchell muttered softly, yawning widely, “I didn’t wake up at 8AM just to have to leave because the jocks booked the field again. At least the tennis team didn’t take up too much space, these guys are going to take up the whole field. At least you get to ogle Jason, right Piper?”

 

“That bitch,” Piper huffed, glaring at Drew and Jason, “I swear, if she doesn’t back off of him soon, I’m going to blackmail her with pictures of her with her retainer and curlers in.”

 

Mitchell let out a snort of amusement, shaking his head fondly. Luckily, Drew flounced back to them before Piper could do anything rash, her curls bouncing on her shoulders as she walked.

 

“Okay, everyone, this is a great chance to practice. The soccer team is going to be practicing as well, so we have to stay in our area and not ruin their game,” Drew announced, Nico rolling his eyes, “Now come on, everyone, back into position three.”

 

Begrudgingly, Nico got up and got into position.

 

By the time their break came around, Nico felt sweaty, tired and hot. His hair was plastered down against his neck, his ponytail heavy. Ugh. He went to sit down at the bleachers next to Hazel, stealing her water bottle and taking big gulps of it.

 

The football team evidently took a break at the same time as well, because the entire group of sweaty boys came running to the bleachers, Frank and another boy coming to sit next to him and Hazel. Nico nearly choked on the water when he saw the other boy.

 

He was utterly gorgeous, hair like the sun and eyes like the sky with freckles like the stars. He was beautiful. It helped that he was wearing a uniform that was about two sizes too small, clinging to his arms. As Nico leaned down to put Hazel’s bottle down, he glanced at his legs. Damn. He was freckled everywhere, Nico being able to catch sight of dark freckles visible behind his fine blond hair on his muscled legs.

 

“Frankie and I are going to the canteen”, Hazel said to Nico with a smile as Nico straightened up, “You want anything, big brother?”

 

Nico just gave her a grateful look, handing her a fiver, “Chocolate, please. Love you, thank you.”

 

Hazel smiled and nodded, standing up and taking the fiver from Nico before taking Frank’s hand and leading him off to the canteen. Nico suddenly realized that this meant that he was alone with this Golden Boy.

 

“Hey,” he spoke, and his voice was smooth like butter on warm pancakes, though he had a pretty thick southern accent that Nico wouldn’t have expected from anyone who lived in New York, “You’re Nico, right? Frank’s told me lots about you. I think your sister and him are trying to set us up. I think they have been ever since I told Frank I was bi.”

 

Nico blinked at him in confusion. How was he supposed to respond to all that overload of information? Instead, he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “How come you’ve got such a pretty accent?”

 

Immediately, he felt himself blush. Will blushed as well, grinning widely and chuckling before speaking, “Me? You’ve got a far prettier accent, Mr. Italian. Though, if you’ve gotta know, I was raised in Texas. My Ma’s from Texas and so her boyfriend. So, ya know, it’s kinda hard to lose the accent.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nico mumbled, “It’s pretty.”

 

Will beamed widely at that, giving Nico a grateful look before humming in thought and speaking, “Well, what would you say about maybe catching a movie on Saturday? I mean, it’d make Frank and Hazel back off a little and we could get something to eat later, and you’d get to hear me talk lots more.”

 

“One condition. I’m a picky eater, I’ll only say yes if we go to McDonalds. And it’s my treat.” Nico managed to reply, grinning at Will, who nodded eagerly.

 

Hazel and Frank returned, Hazel handing Nico his chocolate bar. Nico hesitated for a moment before snapping it in half and handing half of it to Will. Perhaps signing up for the cheer team had its perks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to do smut for this one, I'm sorry but I loved the idea of a first meeting. Let me know if you want another part to this! Y'all, leave me suggestions please!


	7. Day 7= Three Days in the Infirmary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will smiled, and suddenly, the night didn’t seem so dark, the dark didn’t feel so big, and the expanse of night didn’t feel so lonely.

Nico didn’t know what he had been expecting when Will asked him to spend three days in the infirmary. Nothing good, that was for sure. He’d expected three days of far too much coddling, chiding and touching. He hated all three of those things. Instead, he got three days of force-feeding, power restrictions and Will Solace. He hated only two of those things.

 

* * *

 

“You have to eat, Nico,” Will said with a huff as he offered a bowl of soup to Nico, “I’m not letting you die of starvation after you literally survived a battle with the world.”

 

Nico shook his head, his face scrunching up at the sight of the soup. Broccoli cheddar. Nico enjoyed cheddar, despised broccoli. “Don’t like this,” Nico replied, “Hate broccoli. Hate most foods.”

 

Will pursed his lips at that, sighing softly, “Alright then. What food do you not hate?”

 

Nico was silent for a moment, considering this before speaking, “Plain chicken. Plain pasta. Plain pizza. McDonalds. Ramen. The chicken flavor only, the seasoning packet has to be added after boiling, and it has to have barely any water in it.” His throat was beginning to hurt, he hadn’t said those many words to someone in a while.

 

Somehow, Will seemed to sense Nico’s pain and just flounced off. Apollo powers, he figured. He hadn’t really expected Will to have paid much heed to what he had said, but Will returned about half an hour later with a slice of plain cheese pizza, a bowl of ramen prepared the way Nico liked it, and a plain shredded chicken sandwich.

 

“Here, you fussy toddler. Now eat, otherwise I swear to god, I’m going to tie you down to this bed and force feed you, you understand me?” Will spoke in a voice that Nico presumed he had attempted to make intimidating, though his voice clearly hadn’t completed puberty yet because it cracked multiple times throughout his sentence. Nico’s lips twitched upwards slightly in amusement and he silently got to work nibbling at his sandwich.

 

He finished all of his food.

 

* * *

 

“Nico di Angelo, for the last time, you’re meant to be resting, not using your powers!” Will’s voice showed that he was upset, Nico could tell, though he did think he sensed a hint of worry.

 

“I got bored.” Nico replied with a huff, Will shaking his head.

 

“So you summoned a zombie army to tap dance in front of your bed? Or you could have, I don’t know, asked one of us to sit next to you and keep you busy?”

 

Nico stared at Will in confusion before he just spoke in a dry tone, “I’m sorry, but explain to me how a very freckly doctor in training is as entertaining as tap dancing zombies.”

 

Will frowned at that, sitting down quietly next to Nico. For a moment, Nico felt guilty looking at Will’s downtrodden expression.

 

“Nico,” Will whispered quietly, reaching for Nico’s hand, which Nico hurriedly pulled away, “Look, Nico, I’m worried about you, okay? I just really don’t want you to end up hurt. Seriously, your powers are huge, and that’s a great thing, but unless you start holding back a little and stop using them for stupid things, you’re going to hurt yourself and you’re going to be weak when the time comes to actually use your powers properly. So… please?”

 

Will’s voice was so sad and yet so hopeful. Nico felt as if though someone was driving a stake into his heart. Was Will trying to kill him? A small part of Nico still wanted to just mouth off to Will but the more humane part of Nico that he’d tried to keep very small and very hidden for a long time began to nag at him to be nice.

 

Nico just shrugged, quietly mumbling, “Fine. Whatever, I’ll be more careful next time.” The grateful look on Will’s face made Nico promising to give up his powers temporarily almost worth it. Almost.

 

* * *

 

Will Solace was a lot more complex than Nico thought he was. Nico hadn’t slept properly for years now. Whenever he slept, he faded in and out of sleep, and was always faintly aware of what was going on around him as he slept. Will had the third shift of night duty, from two am to four am. That also just happened to be the time Nico most struggled to sleep, when everything was far too quiet.

 

Kayla had night duty before Will, and Nico was always faintly aware of the sound of her nails tapping against cardboard as she made her jigsaw puzzles. Nico slept through that. Austin had night duty after Will, and Nico was always faintly aware of the sound of him humming to himself as he checked on the patients. Will, however, was always utterly silent.

 

On the first night, Nico had awoken thinking that he was fully alone with how silent it was. Then he noticed the four patients in the infirmary with him, and Will Solace sitting quietly on the floor, staring at the stars, only looking back to glance at the patients every few minutes.

 

On the second night, Nico awoke to silence again, only to find that Will was leaning back against the counter, picking at the skin on his arm with a look of disdain on his face.

 

On the third night, when Nico awoke, he saw Will trembling as he kept an eye on the patients. Nico quietly whispered for Will to come sit with him because he was scared. He wasn’t scared, but the fact that Will stopped trembling once he was sitting with Nico made it worth the embarrassment.

 

“This is Mythomagic,” Nico whispered quietly as he took his deck of cards off of his bedside table, “It’s the best damn game in the world, and I’m teaching you how to play.”

 

Will smiled, and suddenly, the night didn’t seem so dark, the dark didn’t feel so big, and the expanse of night didn’t feel so lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to WhisperingIntoWind (https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhisperingIntoWind/pseuds/WhisperingIntoWind) for the suggestion! If anyone has more suggestions, I'm open to hear them, and perhaps write them!


	8. Day 8= TheGhostKingRises (Youtuber AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, people watched. People watched as Nico made a YouTube channel named TheGhostKingRises, they watched as Nico uploaded a video thrice a week. His views increased from ten views a video to ten thousand views a video over the course of just a year. To be fair, having Percy and Annabeth shout them out helped a lot.

Nico couldn’t believe he’d missed out on so much in his life, both from being born in the forties and being a demigod.

 

Now, though, there was nothing holding him back. He wasn’t in World War 2 era Italy anymore. He was in 2018 New York and everything was bright and beautiful and wild and safe. With the Hephaestus cabin’s monster repellent advancements, he didn’t have to worry about monsters attacking them at any time.

 

Which in of itself, led to a lot more options for Nico. Most importantly, the internet. This heavenly invention had changed Nico’s life. He adored it. It had movies on it! And games! It even had three Mythomagic games, and Nico was pretty sure he could play those games all day and not get tired of them.

 

That further introduced Nico to lots more games, like Undertale and Night in the Woods and Fran Bow and Five Nights at Freddy’s, which Nico adored despite most people seeming to hate it for some reason. Nico thought it was an adorable game with cute little fluffy animatronics.

 

One part of Shadow of the Colossus had him completely stumped though, so he used The Google to search for what to do. To his surprise, he found videos by a funny green haired man explaining what to do in the game. Nico paid attention and it wasn’t long before he managed to complete the game.

 

* * *

 

“So Nico,” Percy asked with a grin, “How have you been adapting to modern life?”

 

Nico managed a smile, holding onto Will’s hand tightly, “It’s fine. I like the games. And YouTube is amazing. I still can’t believe some people have the time to upload twice a day while still having a job.”

 

Percy looked at Nico in confusion, though Annabeth seemed to understand Nico’s confusion, chuckling and shaking her head, “No, no,” Annabeth explained gently, “YouTube is their job. They get paid through those adverts they play at the beginning of the videos. The companies pay YouTube to put those ads in front of videos, and YouTube pays people to make videos to play ads on.”

 

Nico’s face scrunched up at that, speaking hesitantly, “…that’s some people’s jobs?”

 

Annabeth nodded, grinning at him, “Yup. I mean, Percy and I kind of have it as our part time job too. I make book reviews and Percy helps me out with filming and editing and stuff. You guys should totally try it. I mean, even if you can’t make money off of it, it’s still good fun.”

  
“And while you’re at it,” Percy hurriedly added, “Watch our videos. I’m a little offended you’ve never seen one of our videos.”

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Nico to decide what he was going to film. Gaming videos. Definitely. He wouldn’t have to show his face, he’d only need a microphone and he’d already downloaded all of the games anyways. Besides, gaming was fun and Nico was going to do it whether he filmed it or not.

 

* * *

 

For some reason, people watched. People watched as Nico made a YouTube channel named TheGhostKingRises, they watched as Nico uploaded a video thrice a week. His views increased from ten views a video to ten thousand views a video over the course of just a year. To be fair, having Percy and Annabeth shout them out helped a lot.

 

Nico slowly crawled out of his shell and his 50,000 subscriber surprise was a face reveal, which only resulted in even more views, more subscribers, and a lot of inappropriate comments of people who for some reason thought Nico was their father.

 

After that, Nico had his face in most of his videos, and he slowly stopped being embarrassed of how his face scrunched up when he got upset, he stopped trying to hold back his Italian accent, he started swearing in Italian instead of English.

 

Once Nico began filming his face as well, people began noticing someone walking past Nico in the background of a lot of videos, and Nico watched as his viewers began commenting that they wanted to see who the person with the freckly arms was.

 

It got to the point where Nico’s twitter was filled with people tagging him in edited movie posters where Nico would often be the male lead while Will’s body was edited onto the position of the woman whose head wasn’t showing.

 

“Will, come on,” Nico pleaded softly, “Just one video so that they’ll stop bothering me about all of this? They think you’re a girl, for gods sake. They keep telling me to tell my girlfriend to appear in my videos. I’ve told them I’m gay before but they keep thinking that I’m joking. Come on, please?”

 

Will hesitated for a moment before sighing and nodding, “Fine. Whenever you hit 100,000 subscribers, I’ll star in one video with you. One. You can decide what we do, but no scary games.”

 

Nico grinned and smooched Will happily. In his next video, he told his subscriber that he’d feature his boyfriend when he reached 100,000 subscribers. He reached his goal in a week.

 

* * *

 

“Do I look alright?” Will asked worriedly, trying to pat down his hair.

 

“You look fine,” Nico replied calmly, trying his best to be reassuring, “Besides, I’ll edit out any parts you don’t like.”

 

“I don’t even know what we’re doing. Besides, you know I’m terrible at playing most games.”

 

“You won’t be at this one. I promise.” Nico reassured him as he got the computer set up.

 

A few clicks later, the screen displayed the title ‘Surgeon Simulator’. Will whined softly, giving Nico a look, “Neeeeksssss, just because I’m studying to be a surgeon doesn’t mean I’m good at game surgeries.”

 

“That’s the point. It’s a game with shitty controls, nobody’s good at it. It’ll be funny,” Nico insisted, “Though we could play I Am Bread instead, if you’d like. Or Doki Doki Literature Club. That’s easy but it’s scary.”

 

Will just sighed and reluctantly took the controller.

 

* * *

 

Nico watched with wide eyes as the views racked up almost as soon as he pressed post. 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 50000… the views increased and increased until within a few hours, they’d beat his most popular video.

 

Within 24 hours, Nico’s ‘Surgeon Simulator ft. my boyfriend’ had gotten 500,000 views and 50,000 comments with most of them cooing over how adorable Will was and how they needed them both to get married right now. Nico grinned. He was so going to have to make another video with Will.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Lyra_Raven (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyra_Raven/pseuds/Lyra_Raven) for the suggestion! If anyone has more suggestions, I'm open to hear them, and maybe even write them so leave them in the comments!


	9. Day 9= Wait, what? (Innocent Nico)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’d even left sticky notes with hearts all over Nico’s cabin once. Nico had thought Frank had left them for Hazel and hadn’t responded.
> 
> He’d even taken Nico out for a movie once. Nico had complained once they’d left that the movie was too sappy and romantic and that a horror movie would’ve been more fun.
> 
> Will had even called Nico over for a sleepover. Nico had come… along with his Mythomagic game and had spent the entire night playing Mythomagic with the entire cabin.

Will was starting to get fed up. Nico was fucking impossible. It was hard enough for Will to try to flirt with Nico, but the fact that Nico for some reason didn’t seem to absorb the fact that Will was flirting with him made it about a thousand times harder. 

  
  


He’d tried everything. Nico took them all as friendly, platonic gestures.

  
  


* * *

“Sure,” he’d said when Will had asked him if he wanted to go out, “Where do you wanna go? Can we go to McDonalds? I’m so hungry.” 

  
  


Will had said yes, obviously, because for Nico to actually want to eat was a rare occurrence but it still frustrated him to no extent. 

  
  


* * *

“Thanks for the roses, by the way,” Nico had said when Will had left roses at his doorstep, “How’d you know that the Hades cabin reeks? Seriously, I know it’s the death cabin or whatever, but it doesn’t have to smell like something died in there.” 

  
  


Will had groaned, though he did end up buying Nico a vanilla candle for the Hades cabin. It really did stink of rotting meat. 

  
  


* * *

“Will, did you get me these?” Nico asked, holding up the box of chocolate that Will had left on Nico’s bed, “They’re amazing, here, try one. They’re literally the same that Bianca and I would get for each other on birthdays when we were little. Thank you so much.”

  
  


Will sighed softly. He was never going to go on a date with Nico. It wasn’t like his siblings hadn’t tried either. 

 

* * *

“Heya, Nico,” Kayla had said in a singsong voice as she grinned at Nico, giving him a sly look, “Will wants to know, do you top or bottom in bed?” 

  
  


Will let out a squeak at that, turning bright red though Nico just shrugged nonchalantly, “Top, usually. Hazel prefers to sleep closer to the ground so she takes the bottom bunk. That kind of forces me to the top. Whenever she’s not there, though, I take the bottom bunk.”

  
  


Kayla had just stared at Nico in disbelief before she just pushed Nico to Will, shaking her head with a sigh. 

 

* * *

Aria and Cayden, Will’s younger twin siblings called out to Nico as he passed by them. 

  
  


“Hey, Nico!” Aria called out. 

  
  


“Rumor has it you like stuff in your mouth,” Cayden added.

  
  


Nico shrugged, humming in thought, “If by that you mean French fries, then damn right I do. Fries are delicious. And chicken nuggets.” 

  
  


* * *

Nico sat at the Apollo table with Will. James, Will’s older brother, spoke up, “So, Nico, Will tells me you’re totally uninterested. Wouldn’t you like some Sunny D?” 

  
  


“Nah, not really. It’s too sweet for my taste. Besides, I prefer apple juice,” Nico replied calmly while Will sputtered and buried his face in the crook of Nico’s neck. 

  
  


* * *

There was no point and Will was seriously giving up. No matter what he did or what he tried, Nico just didn’t seem to understand that Will was flirting with him. 

  
  


He’d even left sticky notes with hearts all over Nico’s cabin once. Nico had thought Frank had left them for Hazel and hadn’t responded. 

  
  


He’d even taken Nico out for a movie once. Nico had complained once they’d left that the movie was too sappy and romantic and that a horror movie would’ve been more fun. 

  
  


Will had even called Nico over for a sleepover. Nico had come… along with his Mythomagic game and had spent the entire night playing Mythomagic with the entire cabin. 

  
  


What else was a boy supposed to do just to get his crush to pay attention to him? He was running out of any ideas he had to try and court Nico. 

  
  


* * *

January brought Nico’s birthday. Nico’s birthday which he’d be spending alone because Hazel was in Camp Jupiter and because the rest of his friends would be in college. Which meant it was up to Will to make Nico’s birthday the best birthday ever. 

  
  


Will spent all week planning everything, and on Nico’s birthday, he had managed to get him a triple layered double chocolate fudge Mythomagic-themed cake and a birthday present he was unsure of. 

  
  


When Nico walked into the Hades cabin that night with Will to see the cake, Nico looked like he was going to cry. Will didn’t think he’d ever seen Nico cry before. 

  
  


“Do you hate it…? I thought you’d hate it. Please don’t tell me you hate it…” Will whispered hesitantly. 

  
  


“...I don’t hate it,” Nico whispered in a small voice before pulling Will into a tight hug, “I love this. I love you. You’ve been so amazing to me… Will, would you… would you maybe like to go out with me…?” 

  
  


Will stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing, which made Nico shrink back into himself.

  
  


“...you could have just said no, you didn’t have to laugh.” Nico whispered quietly. 

  
  


Will hurriedly stopped laughing, shaking his head, “No, it’s not that… it’s just… I’ve been trying to ask you out for months now, you oblivious dork.” 

  
  


Nico stared at Will in confusion before huffing at him, “You literally haven’t even tried to flirt with me one single time. Name a single time that you tried to ask me out and I didn’t get it? I’m not oblivious.” 

  
  


Will just smiled fondly at Nico. He didn’t want to argue with him, Nico could win if he wanted to win. 

  
  


“Alright, alright, whatever. Though now could we please just kiss? I’ve been wanting to since August.” Will complained with a huff. 

  
  


Nico didn’t say anything, just rushing forward and pressing his lips against Will in a brisk, chaste kiss. 

  
  


Will kissed Nico back before he just pulled away and hugged him tightly before getting to work cutting up the cake and feeding Nico a forkful of it, watching as Nico ate it happily, even letting out an appreciative groan at the taste of it. Will grinned widely. Nico was adorable. Things were really looking up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to MJ for the suggestion! My writing schedule is booked till April 15th, but I still need 15 more suggestions, so leave your suggestions down below!


	10. Day 10= Sugar and Sprinkles (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immediately, the tone of the room changed. Nico fell silent, not replying for a moment before just speaking again, sounding as cold and distant as he first had, “Now you have to beat the eggs for a few minutes until foamy and then add the vanilla.”

Will gaped as he followed Nico like a zombie into his mansion. His eyes widened as he caught a glance of Nico’s backyard and garage on their way inside.

 

The garage was filled with about five more equally expensive cars while the backyard had an utterly giant, gorgeous pool. Shit. Was this really how the rich lived?

 

Will used to dream about having a pool too when he was a kid. He grew up in the tiny little ranch house with his Ma in Texas, that only sometimes got electricity, rarely had cable and the only water they could get was from the well in the backyard. They were lucky enough to have a portable WiFi device.

 

But this house… it was amazing. The inside was slightly less welcoming. Will’s childhood home was always full of crayon drawings on the wall and had a worn in sort of comfort to it. This house… it felt cold, empty, distant.

 

There were a few cooks in the kitchen, though Will couldn’t hear anyone upstairs or anywhere else.

 

Nico’s parents didn’t seem to be home. Will knew that he had a half-sister too but he couldn’t hear her home either.

 

Nico didn’t address the silence, just dropping his backpack on the sofa and taking his muddy shoes off, leaving them on the carpet. He let Will do the same before wordlessly just pulling him to the kitchen, sitting down with him at the counter.

 

Within what Will could swear was only a few seconds, both of them had full plates of food in front of them. Very very stereotypically Italian food.

 

Pasta in white sauce, garlic bread and some chicken parm. Will stared in disbelief. The only time he could get this much food with this much variety was Christmas and birthdays.

 

He waited for Nico to start eating before he started eating as well, trying not to eat too fast or let outany appreciative groans. Which was hard, because that food was so so damn good.

 

It wasn’t that Will was starving or anything, but he wasn’t exactly having a feast every day. Nico ate in a strange way. He was very finicky with it, using different utensils for his chicken and pasta and making sure they didn’t touch each other.

 

 

He took small, careful bites, hiding his mouth with his hand as he chewed almost as if though he was self conscious about his mouth. He took a napkin and wiped at his mouth every few bites and drank a lot more water than he ate.

 

It took nearly an hour of just eating in silence but Nico and Will both managed to finish their food before Nico stood up and got out a giant glass bowl.

 

“Okay, what do you want to make? It has to be a dessert, I asked Ms. Hestia,” Nico stated in a very matter of fact way, “Test batch first, then proper batch.”

 

“I don’t know a lot about desserts,” Will said in a quiet, embarrassed voice, “I don’t eat a lot of dessert. I’ve only ever had a few. I know the basics like cake and brownies and cookies and pudding and stuff but not much more.”

 

Nico sighed again, just handing Will a cookbook, “Here. I can help you make any recipe in here. Just choose whatever.”

 

Will just nodded dumbly. He really didn’t think that he had much to add to this conversation overall. He knew little to nothing about desserts and even less about baking, which he supposed added to why he was failing in Home Ec.

 

He read silently through the pages, finally finding some croissant rolls with chocolate inside that looked amazing, showing Nico the page hopefully. Will thought he almost caught a slight semblance of a smile on Nico’s face as Nico nodded and took the cookbook back, getting to work getting the ingredients out.

 

“Okay, so I’ll tell you what to do and I’ll help you, but I’m not allowed to do a whole ton of stuff for you.” Nico explained as he handed Will a set of measuring scoops, “Just fill the right one up with the right stuff and dump it in the bowl.”

 

Nico began listing off amounts and instructions, being surprisingly gentle and nice to Will. When Will cracked a whole ton of eggshell into the bowl and had to start trying to dig the bits of shell out with his fingers, Nico even attempted some small talk.

 

“So, what does your mom do?” Nico asked in a hesitant tone, almost as if he were uncomfortable with the topic.

 

Will shrugged, “This and that. Whatever she can find work doing. She produces her own music on the side though. It’s great, Ma’s a really awesome singer and musician.”

 

Nico hummed in understanding, nodding, “That’s nice, I suppose.”

 

“What about you?” Will asked curiously, hoping that this small talk would finally lead to some sort of relationship with Nico, “What do your parents do? I mean, obviously, judging by the size of this house, they do something.”  


“Papa’s got old money,” Nico replied nonchalantly, “We inherited the house. Most of the money. Papa dabbles in stocks, invests, runs a couple of companies.”

 

“Oh,” Will replied without thinking, “And what about your mom? I mean, it didn’t seem like she was home, does she work too?”

 

Immediately, the tone of the room changed. Nico fell silent, not replying for a moment before just speaking again, sounding as cold and distant as he first had, “Now you have to beat the eggs for a few minutes until foamy and then add the vanilla.”

 

* * *

 

About half an hour later, the croissants had been put into the oven and Will felt very proud of himself. He had actually made something without burning the house down. Albeit, Nico had helped a lot, but still.

 

“I’m heading upstairs,” Nico stated as he picked up his backpack, “I’ve got homework to do while this shit bakes. Are you taking Calculus or English Lit? And if you are, can you help me with them?”

 

It took a moment before Will fully processed Nico’s words. Once he did, he cursed himself for being terrible at math, and then cheered up at the realization he did indeed take literature.

 

“I take Lit. I can help you with it, what teacher do you have?”

 

“Ms. Athena.”

 

Will grinned, standing up, “I’ve got her too. I know all her soft spots, I’m her favorite so I think I can help.”

 

Nico managed a smile at that, nodding, “Very well then. Come on, I’ll show you my bedroom.”


	11. Day 11=Sleepy Roadtrips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will smelt like strawberries, honey, sunshine and home. Nico resisted the urge to lean into him. He was so beautiful. His eyelashes were long and pale, his skin splattered with freckles, his camp necklace practically filled with beads.

Nico should never have listened to Jason when Jason convinced him to come along with them to New Rome to try and help keep New Rome in order while Reyna was away on another mission. 

  
  


So here Nico was, smushed into a crappy Camp Half-Blood minivan with Percy and Annabeth in the front seats, Annabeth guiding Percy as to where he was supposed to go with a map while Jason and Piper were in the middle row, Jason cuddling Piper close as Piper drew on his arm with a sharpie. 

  
  


In the next row of seats were Nico and Will, which wasn’t really ideal but since Hazel, Frank and Leo had all insisted on taking the backseat so that they could play their Ludo together, there wasn’t really anywhere else they could go. 

  
  


Will smelt like strawberries, honey, sunshine and home. Nico resisted the urge to lean into him. He was so beautiful. His eyelashes were long and pale, his skin splattered with freckles, his camp necklace practically filled with beads. 

  
  


Nico frowned at that. Huh. Will had to have been at camp since he was a kid if he had that many beads. 

  
  


As Nico busied himself in counting the beads on Will’s necklace, Annabeth began to pass back some snacks and bottles of iced coffee and 

Nico took a packet of Oreos and a bottle of coffee gratefully. This was going to be a long ride. 

  
  


They’d been driving for nearly 30 hours now. Nico would have hoped that they’d be there by now, he was really sick of staying at crappy motels and pissing at filthy truck stops. 

  
  


He was fucking exhausted. He got practically no sleep at nights. He shared his room with Frank and Percy, and while Frank was scared of the dark and insisted the light stay on, Percy snores and drooled endlessly. 

  
  


Needless to say, it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to sleep. Which was why Nico was sitting in the stupid minivan, about to fall asleep, and Will’s warmth near him wasn’t helping. 

  
  


He had done his best to load up on caffeine, but apparently, that hadn’t been enough because he was still exhausted and his eyelids were drooping. He didn’t want to sleep. If he slept, he risked talking in his sleep, and risked Will finding out that he liked him. 

  
  


He sighed softly and just closed his eyes to rest them for a moment, and before he knew it, he succumbed to sleep. 

  
  


He was faintly aware of warmth next to him and instinctively cuddled into it with a happy whine. He heat source stiffened for a moment before the warmth spread all over him and he felt gentle fingers through his hair. 

  
  


He let out a pleased sigh and pressed his nose close to the heat source. It smelt amazing. He didn’t have to focus on that right now though. He just needed to rest.

  
  


* * *

 

“Will, you should just ask him out, you know?” Nico heard Annabeth’s voice in a foggy spot at the back of his mind. 

  
  


“I can’t,” he thought he heard Will reply, “He probably doesn’t even like me. I mean, Percy, he had a crush on you, you’re probably more his type.”

  
  


He heard everyone in the minivan groan while Percy snorted in amusement, “Nope, I’m not. He was very clear about that.”

  
  


“Will,” Leo piped up, “Don’t be so damn oblivious. He’s literally using you as a pillow right now. He’s literally in your lap, for Gods’ sake.”

  
  


Will just let out a melancholy sigh, “Nope. He probably doesn’t like me.” 

  
  


What…? Nico tried his best to process what he was hearing, though the majority of his brain was yelling at him to sleep. He just shifted slightly to get himself comfy and let his brain wander back into the depths of sleep. 

  
  


* * *

 

When Nico awoke, all he knew that it was dark out for some reason, he needed to pee and he was fucking starving. That was, until he noticed that he was very comfortable and he knew that Camp Half-Blood’s minivan’s seats weren’t this comfortable. 

  
  


As he came to his senses, he realized that he was in Will Solace’s lap. He hurriedly scrambled onto his own seat, looking at Will apologetically. 

  
  


“Sorry,” he mumbled out, his voice thick with sleep, “Didn’t mean to sleep on you. Where’s everyone else?” 

  
  


“Reloading on snacks and using the bathroom. Didn’t want to wake you.” Will replied gently. 

  
  


“Shit,” Nico swore softly, “I’m sorry. I gotta pee too, come on, let’s go.” 

  
  


As Will got up and followed Nico out of the van to the bathroom, Nico finally began to comprehend what he had heard in his sleep. As they walked to the bathroom, Nico finally gathered the courage to ask, “Hey, Will..?”

  
  


“Yeah?”

  
  


“Will you please go out with me?”

  
  


Will’s smile was so wide that he looked like his face would tear in half, though he hurried to neutralize his expression, nodding quickly, “Yeah. Sure. Definitely. When?”

  
  


“Whenever we get to New Rome, I suppose,” Nico replied with a chuckle, “Unless you want to have our first date in a car?” 

  
  


“No, no, of course not,” Will replied, “But lucky for you, New Rome is only half an hour away.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to WhisperingIntoWind for the lovely suggestion!


	12. Day 12= The Heir to the Apollan Throne (Royalty AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel raised her eyebrow at the tone though she kept her own neutral as she spoke, “Perhaps, instead of sitting here and whining, you could go slay the serpent, Python, at Delphi. It’s been nearly seventeen years since it stole away the heir to the Apollan throne, and yet nobody has been able to retrieve him.”

Prince Nico of Pluto absolutely hated anyone asking him what sector of what region he was from, because as soon as he answered, their demeanor completely changed and they bowed to him, begging him for forgiveness of their insolence.

 

Nico thought that was bullshit. If they couldn’t be respectful to him before they knew who he was, he didn’t need them to be respectful to him afterwards. Besides, being a prince wasn’t exactly something Nico had achieved, it was something he had been born into. If they really had to respect him over something, Nico would want it to be over his bravery, or sword fighting skills, sparring capabilities or defense strategies. Something he was proud of too, at the very minimum.

 

Nico was currently sitting in the studio with his sister Hazel as she painted, complaining about this exact matter.

 

“You know, brother,” Hazel interrupted, “If you really want respect, you have to do something that people will know you for. You can’t expect people to know of your bravery or ability with a sword or defense strategies if you do nothing to prove them.”

 

Nico huffed. He really hated being told what to do. “Oh? Well then, what do you suggest I do?”

 

Hazel raised her eyebrow at the tone though she kept her own neutral as she spoke, “Perhaps, instead of sitting here and whining, you could go slay the serpent, Python, at Delphi. It’s been nearly seventeen years since it stole away the heir to the Apollan throne, and yet nobody has been able to retrieve him.”

 

Nico huffed again, and scowled, “Seventeen? He should very well be a man by now, can’t he slay the beast on his own and escape?”

 

“Oh, yes,” Hazel replied in an unimpressed, sarcastic tone, “I wonder why he hasn’t ever considered that. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s probably weak, malnourished, unarmed and has never received sword training. Nothing to do with that at all.”

 

“…fine. I suppose you’re right,” Nico admitted, albeit reluctantly, “Who do you reckon I should speak to about this? Papa won’t have the time to discuss this matter with me.”

 

“Master Chiron, I’d think. If anyone knows about this beast, he does. I have a lot of faith in you, I do, but it really is an impressive serpent. Even the greatest of knights and warriors have been unable to defeat it. It would not be wise to leave without knowledge, and perhaps some advice.”

 

* * *

 

Nico embarked on the quest three days later armed with his sword and as much information about the Python as he possibly could have learnt. By this point, he knew the beast’s weaknesses, strengths, attacks and strategy. With his Stygian Iron sword by his side, he had nothing to fear. That beast would be no match for him.

 

He followed his compass north. “Delphi is not far from home,” Master Chiron had explained to Nico, “But it’s small, and easy to miss, and surrounded by thick forest. The best way to arrive there is to follow the compass north. Delphi is the very center of the earth. When the compass begins spinning, you’ll know you’ve arrived.”

 

Master Chiron had been right. Delphi wasn’t far, barely a week’s trip. Nico stopped at residences he encountered on his way to seek board, food and directions, paying each of his hosts with a generous sum of coin.

 

About halfway through his seventh day, Nico noticed it. The hand of the compass was spinning wildly, seeming to be searching for the correct direction of true north. He had arrived. He frowned, and looked around in confusion. Apart from a small stream, he saw nothing. No buildings, no people, nothing.

 

And yet, Master Chiron told him that the compass would be an undeniable sign… Nico sniffed. The air had the unmistakable, slight tinge of something burning. If that wasn’t enough proof that he was on the right path, he didn’t know what was. But where? He had to be careful, the beast probably had far better hearing than he did.

 

He slowly crept forward, looking around. Eventually, he found a small clearing underneath a giant wall of stone, covered by vines. He grinned. Time to face this beast once and for all.

 

* * *

 

The fight was far greater than Nico had imagined. Perhaps he had allowed his arrogance to get the better of him. After all, there was a reason nobody had successfully saved the prince in the last seventeen years. The beast was huge, and fast and strong, with a tail covered in jagged spikes and skin too thick for a sword to penetrate fully with a single stroke.

 

The fight had continued for a long time, a few hours at least, judging by the position of the sun, since Nico had forgotten to bring a watch. Finally though, the beast had fallen, its blood tinging the river a delicate pink.

 

Nico was sweaty, wounded, exhausted and hungry. This prince really wasn’t worth it. He just hoped the gash in his arm would heal. Nobody was worth losing an arm over, especially not his sword arm.

 

He headed inside of the tower, a tall spindly building that seemed to have endless stairs, and apparently, only two rooms. He reached the main room, which was surprisingly clean. There was someone sitting on the bed, reading. For a moment, Nico was confused. This person looked so feminine, with long golden hair and delicate freckles. And yet, Nico found him so beautiful, despite usually having a certain distaste for women.

 

The boy was evidently surprised as well when he noticed Nico, his blue eyes wide.

 

“You’re alive,” he whispered in a voice far deeper than his appearance would suggest, and yet, it only drew Nico closer to him, “Nobody ever survives a battle with Python… you’re a hero. Please tell me you’re here to get me out of here. I want to see my parents.”

 

Nico nodded, giving the boy a reassuring look and holding his arm out to help him up, only to wince in pain as his wound was disturbed. The boy looked very alarmed by this, hurriedly wrapping his long hair around Nico’s wound before he began singing what seemed to be an incantation. Nico let out a yelp of surprise as his hair began to glow and Nico felt his skin pulling together as it healed.

 

The boy pulled his hair, which now was streaked with red, away, not even giving Nico a chance to speak or question as he tugged Nico down the stairs, speaking in a giddy, childlike tone, “So, which sector of which region are you from? Because I have a book on the regions and with how tough you are, you could be Ares! Oh wait, no! You’ve got a Stygian Iron sword! Pluto perhaps? This is so cool, tell me all about the outside world. Or nevermind, don’t tell me, show me!”

 

Nico smiled as the boy drabbled on and on excitedly. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy getting to know him better. But first, he had to focus on getting him home.


	13. Day 13= Pretty Please?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This year, however, things were going to be different. While not many of Nico’s friends were still at camp, with Jason and Piper at Camp Jupiter and Percy and Annabeth at college, Nico still had Hazel, Leo, Frank, and best of all, his boyfriend Will. Not to mention, since this was after all a celebration revolving mainly around Hades, he and Hazel were going to be honored.

The winter solstice approached, and for once, Nico was excited. The winter solstice was a day spent to honor important gods that weren’t the Olympians, namely Hades. Nico never really had a chance to celebrate it before, since Bianca had died before the solstice when they had first discovered who their father was, and with the Titan War and the war with Gaia after that, Nico hadn’t ever had the time or energy to celebrate.

 

This year, however, things were going to be different. While not many of Nico’s friends were still at camp, with Jason and Piper at Camp Jupiter and Percy and Annabeth at college, Nico still had Hazel, Leo, Frank, and best of all, his boyfriend Will. Not to mention, since this was after all a celebration revolving mainly around Hades, he and Hazel were going to be honored.

 

Hades had been particularly moody lately. With Apollo a human now, sickness had been running rampant and across the world, the amount of people dying from sickness was doubling, which meant the Underworld was full, and a pain to manage. Hades could really use some honoring to calm him down before he did something harsh.

 

* * *

 

Nico smiled in the mirror as he looked himself over. He actually looked pretty decent in his black and deep purple robes with a neon green lining. On his head, he wore a crown made of animal bones. Now that he’d grown his hair out, he actually found that he looked a good bit like his father. Other than, of course, his skin.

 

He was paler than most Italian boys, he was aware, but his skin still had a light tinge of warmth to it, with just the faintest hint of scattered freckles on his cheeks. Despite the clothes and crown and very similar facial structure, he still looked utterly human.

 

Still, he supposed that was all he could do. It wasn’t like he could do much about his skin now.

 

* * *

 

Nico glanced in the mirror and wanted to scream. Pretty much as soon as Nico had stepped out of his cabin, the Aphrodite cabin had tugged him over to their cabin and had plastered his face in makeup despite Nico’s protests. Nico had to admit, he did look good, like a younger version of Hades, but makeup was awful. Nico recalled what Bianca had told him when he was younger.

 

 

“Makeup is for whores,” Bianca had told him, seeming very proud of herself for knowing this word, “Especially ugly ones. Nobody actually decent or respectable or even mildly attractive wears makeup.”

 

While a small part of Nico did realize she had just been a misguided child nearly eighty years ago, he still felt a lot of prejudice against makeup and just felt very uncomfortable in it. He felt cheap and dirty and while he enjoyed the effect of makeup on his face, he hated the idea of needing makeup to even be mildly attractive.

 

He wasn’t given much time to think this over, however, since Will barged into the cabin to pull Nico out to join the festival, not even addressing the makeup.

 

* * *

 

Will noticed Nico acting odd. He didn’t understand why Nico was so upset, he would have thought Nico would have been in a good mood. He did understand Bianca’s death anniversary was approaching and perhaps he was upset over that, but Nico had seemed fine a few hours ago…

 

Regardless, Will pulled Nico aside before dinner while everyone was more focused on Hazel, speaking gently to him, “Nico? Nico, darling, what’s wrong? You seemed fine just a while ago but you’ve been seeming upset, is everything alright?”

 

Nico just scowled, shrugging, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Nico,” Will prompted, “I know you better than that. Come on, you can tell me.”

 

Nico just shook his head and frowned, “It’s stupid. You’ll think it’s dumb.”

 

“No, I won’t. Nico, if you’re upset, I want to know why so I can try to cheer you up. I’m your boyfriend. Keeping you happy is kind of my job.”

 

“No it’s not…” Nico mumbled quietly, “Though if you must know… I feel stupid. I was feeling all powerful and cool and kingly a while ago and then the Aphrodite cabin put all this makeup on me and… I don’t know. I just feel really stupid.”

 

Will’s face scrunched up in confusion and he raised an eyebrow at Nico, “…you feel stupid? Nico di Angelo, you look drop dead gorgeous and hot as all hell, and you feel stupid?”

 

 Nico felt himself blush though he just shrugged, whispering quietly, “Yeah. A little. Bianca used to say that makeup was for ugly prostitutes.”

 

Will stared at Nico in disbelief, “You feel like an ugly prostitute?”

 

“No, that isn’t what I’m saying. I just… I feel strange, you know? Makeup is for girls, usually girls that are less than decent…”

 

“Nico, maybe back in the forties. Times have changed though, you know? Boys can wear makeup. Anyone can wear makeup. And it doesn’t say anything about how many people you sleep with.”

 

Nico frowned at that, still not really looking assured, shrinking in on himself, “…are you just saying that so I’ll wear makeup more often? Do you just think I’m ugly…?”

 

Will stared at him for a moment before hurriedly shaking his head, smushing Nico into a tight hug, “Neeeekkkkss, come on. Don’t be ridiculous. I love you so so much, okay? Yeah, you do look super super hot in makeup, but you’re beautiful without makeup too.”

 

“…why do you want me to wear makeup then?”

 

“I don’t. Nico, I don’t. I just don’t want you to not let yourself wear makeup because you think it makes you look cheap or whatever. Makeup’s fun,” Will explained gently, taking Nico’s hand, “It’s like painting, but on your face. You don’t have to do it if you don’t wanna, but don’t completely knock it completely, you know?”

 

Nico nodded slowly, managing a small smile as Will kissed his hand.

 

“Now,” Will spoke softly, “Shall we return to the festival?”

 

Nico grinned at that and nodded, allowing his boyfriend to lead him back to the dining hall, where they sat together at the center table and began to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to MJ for the suggestion! I actually don't like how this turned out just because I was so exhausted today. I'm sorry if it isn't great but thanks for reading anyways!


	14. Day 14= Cheerleading Practice (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday arrived and for the first time in what seemed like years, Nico was excited. He was giddy like a little kid as he searched through his closet, trying to find something to wear. Despite having had been in the closet for many years himself, he clearly didn’t know the inside of it well enough because he couldn’t find a single item of clothing he thought looked good on him.

Saturday arrived and for the first time in what seemed like years, Nico was excited. He was giddy like a little kid as he searched through his closet, trying to find something to wear. Despite having had been in the closet for many years himself, he clearly didn’t know the inside of it well enough because he couldn’t find a single item of clothing he thought looked good on him.

 

He whined softly as he emptied his closet. He had to think about this logically. Their school had a uniform, so he didn’t have to worry about Will seeing him something he’d already worn before. He just had to put together the best humanly possible outfit from the clothes he had. He could do that.

 

He pulled out his bomber jacket first of all. He liked his bomber jacket. It had been a present from Bianca before she’d died and while it barely fit him anymore and was pretty worn, he still liked it. Next, he pulled out a pair of black jeans that fit him pretty well. Simple enough.

 

The shirt would be the biggest issue. He didn’t want to wear a band shirt but it seemed like that was all he had. Finally though, he did manage to find something. A simple dark grey shirt that had a tiny rainbow sewn onto the pocket. Nico had only worn it once before, but he reckoned he would look fairly decent in it.

 

Once he finally had his outfit picked out, he went to put his ear piercings in, tying his hair up in a ponytail before he finally headed out.

 

* * *

 

Will looked even prettier than Nico had expected him too. He was wearing a neon blue shirt that matched his eyes and some light wash jeans. He grinned widely at Nico as they met up in front of the cinema. The warm Saturday morning sunlight shining down on him made him look utterly angelic.

 

“Hey, Nico,” Will said in his heavenly accent, making Nico beam widely, “You look really pretty.”

 

Nico felt himself blush. “Not as pretty as you do,” Nico responded, “What movie are we watching?”

 

Now it was Will’s turn to blush as he handed Nico a movie ticket, “Love, Simon. It had good reviews and I just thought it was fitting.”

 

Nico chuckled softly, humming in agreement, “Can’t argue with that. Come on, let’s go inside. Popcorn is my treat. What flavor do you want?”

 

“Plain. Or maybe cheese.”

 

Nico stared at Will in shock, speaking in a teasing voice as he pulled Will inside to the food vendor, “What? No caramel? Will Solace, you’re tearing me apart.”

 

* * *

 

The movie was good, or at least Will presumed. He’d spent most of his time just watching Nico. Even in the darkness, Nico was just so utterly gorgeous. He seemed to enjoy the movie, at least.

 

They headed out of the cinema, starting the short walk to the McDonalds down the street.

 

It was a fairly nice day, though it was rather warm. Will had already started to sweat slightly and he really hoped his crappy deodorant would keep working. He had no idea how Nico was managing in that thick jacket.

 

“You can take the jacket off if you want,” Will spoke with a smile, “I mean, it’s super hot out, you’re going to give yourself heat stroke.”  


Nico frowned at that, wrapping his arms around himself defensively and shaking his head, “It’s a thing. Don’t ask me to take it off, please.”

 

Shit. Will really hoped he hadn’t messed this up. He tried to hurriedly change the topic as they reached McDonalds, ordering their food, letting Nico pay before he helped carry everything outside to the bench.

 

Nico silently ate his food, seeming put off from Will’s last statement. Will had to take drastic measures by remembering what Hazel had told him about Nico, “So, Hazel told me you like Mythomagic. Tell me more about it, I’ve never played before.”

 

The entire mood at the bench changed as Nico perked up, beaming widely and eagerly telling Will all about Mythomagic, what it was and how to play, and somehow, even the stats for about twenty characters.

 

Will grinned and listened to Nico as best as he could although his attention did drift from what Nico was saying to how Nico’s eyes had lit up with excitement, and how his hand gestures got adorably more and more wild as he got himself excited.

 

Nico was so beautiful. Will felt utterly grateful to whatever god was out there that he’d had the good fortune to even be able to go on a date with Nico, listening to him ramble excitedly about the game, laughing happily as he talked in between mouthfuls of chicken nuggets and French fries while Will ate his own cheeseburger.

 

As they finished their food, Nico finally calmed down and took a deep breath, giving him an apologetic look, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep talking for that long, I just have a bit of a tendency to get excited over Mythomagic. It’s kind of the best thing to ever be created.”  


Will chuckled, shaking his head, “I can tell. It must be great if you like it so much. And I don’t really mind, you look so pretty when you’re excited.”

 

Nico blushed again, huffing, “But this date was for me to enjoy your pretty accent, not to ramble on and on like a giant geek and now my car’s going to be here at any moment to pick me up.”

 

Will grinned, giving Nico a look, “Well, I can talk on the next date.”

 

“…there’s going to be a next date?”

 

Will was suddenly worried. Did Nico not want another date? “…if you’d like one.”

 

Nico smiled at that, nodding happily, “I’d like that a lot.”

 

Nico watched as his car pulled up, hesitating for a moment before smooching Will’s cheek and hurrying into his car, waving to Will as he drove off.

 

Will reached up to feel his cheek before beaming widely. He thought that this date went pretty well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I need suggestions! Leave them down below, thanks!


	15. Day 15= Texting and Talking (Love, Simon AU. Kinda)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still, Will was a seventeen year old boy, alone at college and he hated the loneliness that this life held. He usually just went to class, studied, ate slept, and he couldn’t keep living like this. Which was why when he got to class one day and saw writing on his desk, he couldn’t help but reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold= Will  
> Italics= Nico

‘ _I wish I could talk to you. Not just through texts, but in person_.’

 

That’s what the message on Will’s phone read. Will wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Sometime last year, Will had discovered he was bisexual, and had come out to his closest friends. While most of his friends had been utterly supportive, one of them had been absolutely awful to Will. Which was why Will had decided to remain for the most part, in the closet.

 

Still, Will was a seventeen year old boy, alone at college and he hated the loneliness that this life held. He usually just went to class, studied, ate slept, and he couldn’t keep living like this. Which was why when he got to class one day and saw writing on his desk, he couldn’t help but reply.

 

‘ _Why do my straight guy friends not understand that just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I want to suck their dicks?_ ’

 

That was what was written on the desk, and Will snorted when he saw it, writing out a reply, ‘ **Because most straight people don’t understand anything about us.’**

He hadn’t really expected a reply, but when he got back to anatomy class the next day, there it was, clear as day, ‘ _Lmao, true. One of them isn’t too wrong though. He was the reason I found out I was gay five years ago._ ’

 

‘ **Five years ago? Damn, you were ahead of the curve, I only discovered I was bi last year.** ’

 

Will hadn’t got a written response to that, though he had got a laughing doodle along with a phone number.   


‘ **This is the Mystery Desk Person**.’ He had sent in his first text to him, and he had received a text back almost immediately.

 

‘ _Oh? What a coincidence, this is also the Mystery Desk Person. What made you decide to call? I think most people would be a little weary about texting a stranger._ ’

 

 **‘Yeah, I guess. But I’m bored and lonely, and you seemed cool. Besides, what’s the worst you could do to me?** ’

‘ _I could get my friend to track down your IP number and then I could come murder you_.’

 

‘ **Or I could get my friend to track down yours and I could murder you**.’

 

‘… _well played_.’

 

It was nice, Will thought, having someone to talk to and text and just to have something to look forward to when he woke up. At first, they didn’t talk about much more than just mindless chatter. Slowly, however, they began to open up to each other a little bit, talking about the stupid things their friends said, the homophobic experiences they’d had, the teachers they hated.

 

With every passing month, they grew nearer and nearer to each other. They spent all of Christmas day texting each other, and Will told him how he couldn’t afford the ticket to fly back home, while the mystery boy told Will about he’d lost his mother and sister, and how his father didn’t want to see him.

 

It was a little strange to Will, putting so much trust into someone he’d never met, confiding all his darkest secrets to someone he didn’t even know.

 

The thing that really scared Will, however, was the fact that he was slowly starting to fall for him. Mystery boy was so kind and gentle and sweet and understanding, and Will’s heart fluttered every time he texted him. Still, he pushed those thoughts right back to the very darkest corner of his heart. He wasn’t supposed to fall for someone whose name he didn’t even know.

 

And now… now this boy wanted to meet with him and Will didn’t really know how he was supposed to respond to that. His first instinct was to say yes, but what if he really was a serial killer? Or what if this was all some elaborate prank on Will? Still, he decided against his better judgement. What’s the worst that could happen?

 

‘ _Golden boyyyyyyy, are you dead? Don’t leave me on read._ ’

 

**‘Sorry, just got caught up in my own head.’**

 

_‘So, what do you say?’_

 

**‘Sure. You know what, sure thing. Where though? Somewhere public, please.’**

_‘What, you don’t trust me? I’m wounded. Jk, jk, the campus Starbucks? This Friday, 3 PM?’_

**‘Sounds good. See you then. How will I know who you are?’**

_‘I’ll be wearing a brown bomber jacket. You’ll know me when you see me.’_

* * *

  
Friday arrived faster than what Will was prepared for. He still felt horribly nervous as he headed to the campus Starbucks after class at 2:45. He headed inside. Nobody was wearing a bomber jacket. Figuring he was just early, Will waited.

 

3:00 arrived and Will was starting to get nervous. What if this really was an elaborate prank?

 

Just as Will was about to stand up to leave, an utterly gorgeous boy walked into the room, with dark hair that fell into his deep chocolate eyes. Wearing a bomber jacket.

 

Will stared at him in disbelief, waving at him dazedly. The boy grinned and came over to sit down next to him, his Italian accent thick as he spoke, “So, Golden Boy, we finally meet. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Charlie666 for the suggestion! Y'all leave more suggestions down below! We reached the halfway point ayyyyy! I might let myself take a day off tomorrow, we'll see.


	16. Day 16= English Second Language AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days after a month after he’d moved in, however, Will walked into his dorm just to see a boy with bloodless, pallid skin and raven black hair pacing back and forth, speaking in rapid (what Will assumed was) Italian, his voice distressed and upset.

Here he was. He had finally made it. After working his ass off all throughout high school, working up to two jobs at a time while juggling taking four AP classes per year, he was finally here. With a deep breath, Will stepped through the gates and headed to Stanford's Paloma Hall, where he’d spend most of the next four years of his life.

 

He adjusted to life fairly well, and fairly quickly. His classes were amazing, he had amazing teachers, he enjoyed the food, he was getting good grades and he’d made fast friends with people in his classes. The first month of college was better than Will could ever imagine. He didn’t even have a roommate, which he was pleasantly surprised by.

 

A few days after a month after he’d moved in, however, Will walked into his dorm just to see a boy with bloodless, pallid skin and raven black hair pacing back and forth, speaking in rapid (what Will assumed was) Italian, his voice distressed and upset.

 

Will blinked, peeking at his door again to make sure he was in the right room before silently just stepping inside and closing his the door, sitting down on his bed and letting the boy continue his conversation.

 

After a few minutes, he put down his phone, giving Will an apologetic look. Will smiled at him, looking at him curiously, “Hey. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but what are you doing in my room?”

 

The boy frowned at that, looking at Will in confusion, taking a moment to process it before speaking in a gorgeous, thick, Italian accent, his voice choppy and hesitant, “...yours? Number same…?”

 

Will frowned at that. It didn’t seem like the boy spoke very good English. The boy hurried to his backpack, digging through it before handing Will a little, crumpled up slip, which indeed did state that this was the boy’s room. Huh. Perhaps he was Will’s new roommate.

 

Will gave the boy a reassuring smile, “Alright. We’re sharing, I guess. Could I maybe help you get set up?”

 

He had tried to speak slowly and clearly though the boy’s face scrunched up regardless in confusion, “Set up…? Like… quiet…?”

 

Will was confused for a moment before he realized what he was trying to say, hurriedly correcting him, “No no, not shut up. Set up. Like… like get your stuff unpacked?”

 

The boy’s face relaxed at that though he shook his head, “Not here. Italy. Soon.”

 

“Ah, alright. Let me know if you need me to show you around. Tour you, you know? Show you where to eat and the bathroom and all. My name is Will, by the way.”

 

“Nico.” The boy replied, shaking Will’s hand before just silently sitting down and starting to text someone.

 

* * *

 

The day passed in an awkward silence, Nico clearly had no desire to communicate. As dinnertime grew near, Will stood up and got his student ID. Nico was sitting on his bed, going through a giant stack of what appeared to be playing cards, putting them neatly inside of a photo album.

 

“Nico,” Will said gently, “I’m to eat dinner. Want to come with?”

 

Nico hesitated for a moment before nodding, smiling at Will. Will gestured to Nico’s ID and Nico grabbed it, putting it on before letting Will lead the way.

 

“What… studying here, Will…?” Nico asked hesitantly, clearly trying his best to put together a sentence.

 

“Medicine. I want to be a doctor,” Will replied, “What about you? What are you studying?”

 

“Art,” Nico replied, seeming pleased that he’d been able to answer a question correctly though his expression quickly changed to one of annoyance, “Told Papa want to go to _Politecnico di Milano_. In Italy. But Papa say no. Go to America. Sister here.”

 

Will’s face softened in understanding and he nodded, “Your sister is here? Where is she? Do you want to go meet her?”

 

“Class. She have class until late late night on Monday. Tomorrow she free.” Nico explained before frowning, “Papa did let me go to school in Italy. But head get sick there. So Papa say I come here.”

 

Will just nodded, smiling at him and getting some dinner with Nico before he led him outside, sitting with him in the courtyard as they ate, Nico frowning as he took a bite of his pizza.

 

“ _Fanculo,_ very bad. Italy better. Go get nice food?” Nico asked hopefully, pointing to the campus exit.

 

Will shook his head, looking at Nico apologetically, “No money. Sorry. I can only eat here.”

 

Nico huffed at that, pulling out a thick wad of twenties out of his pocket, and suddenly Will knew how Nico had gotten into Stanford without speaking English very well.

 

He shoved the wad of bills into Will’s hand, “Yes money. Come. Show where to eat.”

 

* * *

 

Will smiled at Nico, who was happily digging into a burger he’d bought from Will’s favorite restaurant. He had only been once since it was so expensive, but he figured Nico could afford it.

 

He’d forced Will to get something too, and Will had got the cheapest burger on the menu. It still tasted delicious and was still bigger than most of the burgers Will ate.

 

“ _Stupefacente,_ very nice,” Nico said happily as he finished his burger and got to work eating the fries, “Americans, yes, only make nice American eating. No Italian. Don’t touch Italia food.”

 

Will laughed softly at that and Nico smiled before swearing softly as he saw his phone, “Late. Sister,” he replied worriedly, “Call Taxi?”

 

Will nodded at that and quickly called an Uber to get them back to the campus.

 

* * *

 

Pretty much as soon as they’d gotten back to campus, Nico had run off to go meet his sister, though not before he’d kissed both of Will’s cheeks and thanked him.

 

As Will walked back to his dorm, he couldn’t stop himself from beaming widely. He was looking forward to spending more time with Nico. He knew they probably didn’t have any classes together, but after all, Nico was still new.

 

He probably still needed someone to show him around and Will was more than happy to be that person.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to QueenCfHearts (https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCfHearts/pseuds/QueenCfHearts) for the suggestion! Happy birthday!
> 
> Y'all, I'm open to constructive criticism or suggestions! Thanks!


	17. Day 17= Climbing into your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nobody’s hurting me, William,” Nico reassured Will, kissing his cheek gently, “I’m being serious, I was rock climbing in the Underworld.” Will just sighed, shook his head and bandaged Nico up.

“Where have you been?” Will demanded, his voice half anger and half worried.    
  


Nico just headed to the infirmary cabinet, stealing some bandages and getting to work wrapping his scrapes up. Will huffed and took the bandage from him, getting to work disinfecting his wounds before applying salve and bandaging them properly.  “Rock climbing,” Nico replied nonchalantly, shrugging.    
  


“Nico, don’t lie to  me,” Will said in a practically pleading voice, “Come on, you know you can tell me if someone’s hurting you.”   
  


“Nobody’s hurting me, William,” Nico reassured Will, kissing his cheek gently, “I’m being serious, I was rock climbing in the Underworld.”  Will just sighed, shook his head and bandaged Nico up.    


* * *

“I reckon I could do Mount Everest some day. If it weren’t so damn cold. The Underworld isn’t cold, at least,” Nico said as he looked through a book of mountains he’d gotten from the Camp Library, “Hmm. Some of these look doable, which one of these should I try, Will?”    
  


“Nicoooo, stop joking,” Will mumbled, cuddling Nico close, “These are hard mountains to climb. And you know I still don’t think you’re being fully honest with me...”    
  


Nico rolled his eyes fondly at Will, “I’m being honest. I’m not getting hurt. I’m not using my powers. Well, other than my shadow travel, at least.”    
  


Will bit his lip. It wasn’t like he thought Nico was a liar, he just... Nico had a bit of a tendency to stick with bad people. Nico had returned to camp many times covered in bruises and he had admitted he had gotten into fights. Will had gotten upset, and since then, things had changed. Nico still returned covered in cuts and bruises though he insisted he had gained them rock climbing. Will just hoped he wasn’t lying...   


 

* * *

  
“Dude, Will, you’ve gotta check out the new course the Ares kids have put out,” Kayla said excitedly to Will with a wide grin, “Its impossible. You’ve gotta go try it.”  Will raised an eyebrow at her, glancing at her arms, which were completely scraped up and covered in cuts.    


  
“I know, I know, I tried it and failed,” Kayla replied with a soft laugh, “Just you and Nico go check it out. I think Nico’ll like it, especially with all of his rock climbing.”  Will just groaned softly at that though he did head out of the infirmary to take a look at what the Ares cabin had put out.    


  
It looked like a damn torture device. It was a sort of fake rock wall though it had all sorts of rough, jagged edges and many weak spots.  Will arrived just in time to see Jason try to take on the wall. He hoisted himself up, reaching for the flattest, easiest to grip pieces of rock. He managed to get about a quarter of the way through when a piece of rock that had seemed sturdy had cracked off from Jason’s weight.    


  
Jason tried his best to find another piece to grab onto, scratching up his hand and arm in the process, though the piece of rock his other hand was holding onto clearly couldn’t manage all of Jason’s weight as it snapped off as well and Jason tumbled to the ground, rubbing at his arms as he stood up before dusting himself off.  Percy was next to participate as he hoisted himself onto the wall after Jason, a cocky grin on his face.    


  
He tried a different tactic than Jason, going far faster and just grabbing onto whatever rock he could as he scuttled up, though as he grabbed the sharp rocks, they cut up his hands. He didn’t seem to mind, but the blood from his hands made the surfaces slippery and he was soon falling down as well, grumbling as he walked off.  Huh. He didn’t know who the Ares kids were fooling. If the kids of the Big Three couldn’t manage to defeat this, nobody would.  Just then, Nico walked up quietly, and most people scuttled back, intimidated.    


  
“I’ll try it,” he said softly, Will grabbing his hand.    


  
“Nico, you’ve barely just healed. You’ll get hurt,” Will insisted, “please just don’t.”    


  
Nico just pulled his hand free from Will’s grasp and hoisted himself into the wall. With brisk, measured movements, Nico climbed up the wall impossibly fast, responding within milliseconds to crumbling rock and grabbing onto another piece.    


  
Within seconds, he reached the top, sitting on top of the wall and grinning to Will, waving at him. The palms of his hands were slightly scratched up but overall unhurt.  Will stared at him in disbelief.  He felt like a bit of an asshole, having thought Nico had lied but this... this was proof that he hadn’t been lying.  Will dazedly just waved back with a smile while everyone began whispering to each other about Nico and Jason and Percy began arguing about whose tactic was better.    


* * *

“I’m sorry,” Will whispered quietly that night when Nico let him into the Hades cabin, “I should have believed you. You weren’t lying.”    
  


Nico just shrugged, smiling at Will. “Yeah. I suppose. But I mean, I get why you didn’t, and I’m grateful you’re looking out for me. I love you, Will.” 

  
Will smiled at that, pulling his boyfriend close and peppering his face with kisses before speaking, “Love you more.”    
  


Nico just rolled his eyes fondly before he went to get some of his Mythomagic cards, starting to distribute them between both of them.  “Whatever, you dork. Just shush and come play some Mythomagic with me.”  Will smiled and picked up the cards that Nico handed him, placing down his first card and beginning the game of Mythomagic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Quxxnrandomness (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quxxnrandomness/pseuds/Quxxnrandomness) for the suggestion!


	18. Day 18= Sugar and Sprinkles (Part 3- Finale)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico smiled, genuinely, and for a split second, everything in the universe was good.

Nico’s bedroom was gorgeous. It had a four poster bed in it, and a gorgeous black dresser with gold knobs. The walls were painted light grey though all of the furniture and sheets were black. One wall was covered in what appeared to be a giant plastic sheet with tiny compartments in it, having all of Nico’s Mythomagic cards on display, three shelves next to it having all of his Mythomagic figurines in display in dust protective clear boxes. 

 

Will gasped softly as he looked around the room, Nico tossing his backpack on the black leather sofa in the room before flopping down on it, gesturing for Will to come sit as well. Will went over to gingerly sit on the sofa. It was heavenly soft. His butt had never felt so pampered before. 

 

Nico got out his English Literature notebook and his copy of  _ The Great Gatsby _ . Will hurriedly did the same. Nico opened his notebook, which was surprisingly filled with notes in beautiful Italian cursive, though most of his quizzes and tests had less than beautiful grades written in red pen in the corner.

 

Will’s notebook, in comparison, was filled with messy, chicken scratch handwriting, though all of his tests and quizzes had gold stars on them. 

 

Nico showed Will where in the book he was struggling and Will quickly got to work explaining to him the themes and symbolism in the book. Nico hummed in understanding as Will spoke, writing everything down in his notebook. 

 

Will was struggling a little to focus on the book and not on Nico, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he scribbled furiously, his tongue sticking out slightly in a kitten blep. That thought just completely filled Will with the idea of Nico as a very angry tiny black kitten with poofy fur, and that set Will off laughing.

 

Nico raised an eyebrow at Will, huffing softly, “Why are you laughing? Don’t laugh at me, shut up and go back to explaining!” 

 

Nico’s voice was so whiny and unsure that Will only got the idea of the tiny kitten meowing at the top of his lungs, which set him off laughing even harder. 

 

Nico seemed to get increasingly upset, growing quieter and just getting up to shove his books in his bag. 

 

“No, no, don’t leave,” Will said hurriedly, trying his best to breathe and calm himself down, “I wasn’t trying to be rude, honest. I promise I wasn’t making fun of you.”

 

Nico frowned at that, looking at Will with a raised eyebrow, “Then why were you laughing?” 

 

“I just…” Will hesitated, unsure before deciding to just be honest, “I was imagining you as a very angry tiny baby kitten.” 

 

Nico stared at Will in disbelief before sitting down again, huffing softly, “I look nothing like a kitten. Stop being rude, just be quiet.” 

 

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Nico, promise,” Will hurriedly pleaded, not wanting Nico to be upset with him, “All I meant was that you look adorable. Very very cute with gorgeous hair and pretty, glossy eyes and…” Will realized at that point that he needed to stop though he continued talking, the word vomit coming out on its own accord, “and I absolutely think you’re the best possible creature that could ever exist and I kinda just want to cover you in kisses.” 

 

Will finally managed to restrain himself, Nico’s face morphing into one of shock, before shifting to one of what Will could swear was hope before finally shifting to anger.

 

“Get out,” Nico whispered for a moment before his voice set on fire and he began to yell, “Get out! Who set you up to this?! Was it Jason?! Percy?! I’m going to kill whoever did this, get out!” 

 

Will’s eyes widened and he hurriedly held up his hands as a peace signal, “Hey, hey, calm down. Nobody’s set me up to anything. I triple pinky swear.” 

 

Nico still looked ready to kill Will though his expression faltered at the last words and he whispered quietly, “Prove it.”

 

“What?”

 

“Prove it. Prove you weren’t making this up as a joke and that you actually meant what you said.” 

 

Will looked worried and hesitant though he nodded, slowly walking over to Nico, pressing a quick, chaste kiss to his lips. 

 

Nico stared at Will in disbelief, his entire demeanor shifting and he looked ready to burst into tears as he wrapped his arms around Will’s neck and pushed him up against the wall, kissing him for a solid ten seconds. Will closed his eyes and tried his best to savor the moment. He was fucking kissing Nico di Angelo, he might as well enjoy the moment before it was over. 

 

Nico pulled away after a moment, managing a small, apologetic smile, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that. Just… haven’t had anyone actually like me before. Had to make it something out of the moment.” He whispered quietly. 

 

Will opened his mouth to reply, though before he could, Nico just tugged him downstairs, putting on some oven mitts before taking the tray out of the oven, the croissants looking damn near perfect, beautifully golden brown with molten chocolate peeking out of the ends, the top layer looking light and flaky while the inner layers were visibly more hearty. 

 

“They look nice,” Will said happily, before deciding to see how far he could push his luck, “...almost as nice as you.” 

 

That got a laugh out of Nico. His laugh was as pretty he was. Soft and gentle and twinkling. Will could definitely get used to hearing that laugh. Nico just rolled his eyes fondly at Will’s staring, picking up one of the croissants and feeding him a bite of one of the croissants. 

 

It was hot, but the taste was so good that Will didn’t even mind, beaming and giving Nico a thumbs up.

 

“We’re definitely getting an A.” Will declared happily. 

 

Nico smiled, genuinely, and for a split second, everything in the universe was good. 


	19. Day 19= Soulmate AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But now… now, Nico was starting to give up hope. A person’s sixteenth birthday was the cutoff date to meet their soulmate. If they didn’t meet them until their sixteenth birthday… they’d be part of the .001% of people that would have to search for a partner because they didn’t have a soulmate.

Nico was starting to get worried. His sixteenth birthday was a month away, and Nico still hasn’t met his soulmate. He had heard the stories of everyone around him. 

 

Percy’s story about how he was sure his soulmate was boring because she only listened to classical music until he met Annabeth when he was twelve and realized she wasn’t boring. 

 

Jason’s story about how he heard loud rock music constantly and how he planned out how he’d be upset with his soulmate until he froze at how beautiful Piper was when they met at fifteen. 

 

Even his sister, Hazel’s story about how he was sure her soulmate was an adorable softy because he listened to kids songs all the time, and was pleasantly proved right when they met when she was thirteen. 

 

And yet, Nico heard nothing. He heard no music, ever. When he was younger, he had hope. Maybe his soulmate was just very religious and never listened to music. 

 

But now… now, Nico was starting to give up hope. A person’s sixteenth birthday was the cutoff date to meet their soulmate. If they didn’t meet them until their sixteenth birthday… they’d be part of the .001% of people that would have to search for a partner because they didn’t have a soulmate. 

 

Nico needed a soulmate. He’d lost everyone in his life. He’d lost Mama and Bianca and even Papa didn’t care about him. He needed a soulmate, he wasn’t going to let the universe take that away from him. 

 

* * *

“There’s no point, Hazel…” Nico whispered quietly, “There’s just no point, I’m not ever going to find my soulmate. I don’t even have one.”

 

Hazel frowned at that, huffing softly, “I’m sure you have one, Nico. You just have to go out and look for them.”

 

“You know it doesn’t work like that,” Nico whispered bitterly, “If we’re destined to meet, we’ll meet regardless of what we do. Just… I can’t hear them listen to anything. Ever. I’m worried. It can’t mean much other than that I don’t have a soulmate.”

 

Hazel just sighed softly, “Nico, just… just don’t worry, okay? You’ll find them. Come to Jason’s party tomorrow. Maybe you’ll meet them there.”

 

Nico just morosely stared at the wall before mumbling, “I guess.”

 

* * *

 

By the time tomorrow came, Nico had made up his mind. He was going to force himself to go to Jason and Piper’s New Years Eve party. Piper’s dad was out shooting a movie and he’d let them take the house for whatever they wanted. 

 

He arrived at the party late, dressed pretty relaxedly in some jeans and a Mythomagic hoodie, only to discover that this wasn’t the typical get together that Jason referred to as a party. Rather, this was a full fledged party, the house full to the brim with people, loud music blaring through the windows. 

 

Nico frowned. He hated big parties, though before he could argue, Hazel just pulled Nico inside, going off to find Frank while Nico was left trying to find Jason. Ugh. The music was giving him a massive headache and he just wanted to get out of it. 

 

He pushed his way through the crowd and headed up the stairs to the bedrooms, going to sit in one of the guest bedrooms, just sitting on the bed and watching some YouTube videos. 

 

He had hoped nobody would annoy him here, but he was unfortunately mistaken. Just as he was getting comfortable, three people burst into the room, two boys and a girl. 

 

The girl had bright green hair and one of the boys had dark hair while the third boy, who was facing away from Nico had a mop of blond curls. 

 

Nico scowled at them but none of them really seemed to care as the girl made some sort of strange jazz hands at the blond boy. For a second, Nico was confused before he noticed the blond boy had a hearing aid on. Oh.  _ Oh.  _ They weren’t jazz hands, but rather ASL. 

 

The other boy finally seemed to notice Nico, looking at him apologetically. 

 

“Sorry,” he apologized, “Didn’t realize someone was in here.” 

 

The other boy turned to look at Nico and just as Nico opened his mouth to reply to the first boy, he saw the second boy’s eyes and he knew.  _ He knew _ . Evidently, the other boy felt the same thing, because he ran towards Nico, smashing their lips together in a kiss. 

 

Downstairs, the sound of cheering ripples through the house, an indicator that midnight had struck.

 

Nico kissed back, desperately, hungrily. This was his soulmate. He’d finally found his soulmate and he never wanted to let go of him again. The two of his soulmate’s friends just awkwardly left the room, Nico finally pulling away from the kiss when they were both out of breath, laughing weakly. 

 

He was about to talk to the boy before realizing he probably couldn’t hear, grabbing his phone and opening the notes app to type out. 

 

_ My name is Nico. I’m your soulmate. _

 

**My name is Will** . The boy typed back.  **I’m sorry for not listening to any music. It was kind of pointless for me. Thank you for listening to music though. I can hear it when you can. It’s beautiful** . 

 

Nico smiled at him, burying his face in the crook of Will’s neck before he pulled away and smiled at him, typing back,  _ I’m just glad you’re real. I love you. I love you so much. My birthday’s in a month. I thought I wouldn’t meet you in time.  _

 

**My birthday just started less than three minutes ago. Thank you for coming to the party tonight. Best birthday present I could have asked for. Love you more** . 

 

Nico just let out a wet laugh, shaking his head and pulling Will back into another kiss. The New Year had begun, and all was good. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to darumasama (https://archiveofourown.org/users/darumasama/pseuds/darumasama) for the idea!


	20. Day 20= Cigarettes and Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh gods, the napkins. This boy would every single day draw a little doodle of a pair of frowny lungs, with a little speech bubble saying various preachy things.

Nico had thought that at least one benefit of being rich would be that he wouldn’t have to get a job in college. He could just focus on his studies and have Papa and his new wife pay for it. But no, Papa had given him a lecture on responsibility and had told him that he needed to get a job, so here Nico was, huffing as he put his apron on.

 

Working was degrading, Nico soon discovered, he got no respect, he had to work for three hours without a single break, his back hurt, he had to wear a gross apron and worst of all, that stupid med student thought he was better than Nico.

 

Nico had a problem, he knew he did. He’d started smoking when he was seventeen and started college. He was struggling, upset and needed something to get his mind off of the fact that he didn’t know if he could pass or not.

 

But just because he knew he had a problem, didn’t mean he had any interest in getting rid of it and he didn’t see why this boy did.

 

Every single day, this blond, tan boy with bright blue eyes and soft freckles and a school ID saying that he was a med student and was entitled to a free daily coffee walked into the coffee shop on campus where Nico worked and ordered a coffee. He was polite enough to Nico but every time Nico went to clean up his table after the boy had left, he saw the napkins.

 

Oh gods, the napkins. This boy would every single day draw a little doodle of a pair of frowny lungs, with a little speech bubble saying various preachy things.

 

“Don’t kill me!” “Take care of me!” “I don’t like the tar!” “You can smoke when you’re dead (which you will be soon if you keep smoking)!” “Save me!” “Help!” “It hurts!” “Light…fading… dying…”

 

Still, Nico always just threw the napkins in the recycling, and didn’t pay much heed to them. Today, however, when Nico went to clean the table, he saw what he thought was just a sheet of paper. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was an essay. An essay that was literally twenty pages long.

 

“The Hazardous Effects Of Smoking On The Human Body by William Solace.”

 

Nico scowled when he saw that. Who did this Will Solace think he was, being all preachy to Nico? Hmmph. Regardless, he shoved the essay into his messenger bag before he left as his shift ended.

 

* * *

 

“So, did you read the essay?,” Will asked, in a voice far too chirpy for 8AM on a Saturday morning when Nico served him his coffee.

 

“No,” Nico replied flatly, giving Will an unimpressed look, “And I don’t plan to. I enjoy smoking, I’m not giving it up any time soon. We’re all going to die anyways, why bother living a sad life to try to scrape a few extra years together?”

 

Will whined softly at that, pouting at Nico, “Oh, come on. You’re talking about not wanting to live a sad life, but lung cancer isn’t exactly fun.”

 

“I don’t care, alright? I have reasons I smoke, and that’s all there is to it, so back off.”

 

“And I had reasons I used to drink five energy drinks a day, but I managed to cut down, didn’t I?”

 

“This is different. Look, I don’t even know you. Just fuck off, alright?”

 

He scowled at Will before heading back to the counter to pick up the next order.

 

* * *

 

Will was persistent, Nico gave him that. He was absolutely relentless in convincing Nico to stop smoking. After the first essay, every day, instead of doodles, Will left behind another copy of the same essay with what he assumed was an attempt at humor scrawled over at the top in messy doctors handwriting.

 

“You may be named Nico but you don’t need Nico-tine.” “The only smoking you should be is smoking hot.” “The only good thing about addiction is that the first part sounds like ‘a dick’ and I’m very bi so I enjoy that.” “Stop smoking, you’re not on fire!”

 

Nico rolled his eyes every time he read one of Will’s captions, and by the end of the week, he was determined to just read one of the damn essays so Will would leave him alone.

 

The essay was actually fairly informative, and Nico actually found himself cringing at a few parts, reading about just exactly what he was putting into his body. As suicidal as he’d been in points in his past, he didn’t even think at his worst, he’d wanted an easy death, nothing that would have hurt quite as much as this did.

 

Reluctantly, when Will arrived the next day to the coffee shop, Nico muttered, “...I read your essay. You write well.”

 

Will’s smile was as radiant as the sun, and Nico felt himself get a sunburn, “You did?! Oh, great, I’m so happy! What did you think about it?”

 

Nico just shrugged, “It was fine. Maybe I’ll try to convert to e-cigarettes.”

 

“Yeah! If that’s a stepping stone to cutting off smoking altogether, it’s great! Good job!”

 

Nico just managed a shaky smile. He was regretting this already. He just silently picked up Will’s empty coffee cup, carrying it back to the counter.

 

* * *

 

The next day, when Will got to the coffee shop, he ordered and sat down at his usual table, only to find an empty cigarette packet and a receipt for nicotine gum. Will smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to darumasama (https://archiveofourown.org/users/darumasama/pseuds/darumasama) for the suggestion!


	21. Day 21= Hey, Neighbour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst thing about this boy, however, was that he never fucking closed the curtains. He seemed to have utterly no sense of shame or privacy, because he cleaned his room with the curtains open, read with the curtains open, slept with the curtains open and a light on inside, which just made it so easy for Nico to see inside of his room.

When Nico saw the moving truck pull up to the house next to his, he hadn’t really expected his life to change all that much. And yet, here he was. 

 

The first week or so was perfectly fine, perfectly normal, what Nico had expected. He didn’t really see the new house owners at all. But then, as the bedroom directly facing Nico’s bedroom had started to get filled up with furniture, he finally saw him. 

 

This boy seemed in his early to mid twenties, not a lot older than Nico, though he acted as if though he were ten. Nico watched him dance around the room as he cleaned, blasting Disney songs loudly, leaving Nico unable to nap during the day the way he usually did. 

 

This boy had a mess of a mop of curly blond hair, large, sparkling, curious, radiant blue eyes and freckles covering his tan skin. If he wasn’t so irritating, Nico would have thought he was pretty. 

 

The worst thing about this boy, however, was that he never fucking closed the curtains. He seemed to have utterly no sense of shame or privacy, because he cleaned his room with the curtains open, read with the curtains open, slept with the curtains open and a light on inside, which just made it so easy for Nico to see inside of his room. 

 

It wasn’t like Nico was trying to look, but their windows were perfectly aligned and Nico’s bed faced his window, so every time he was sitting on his bed, he saw the boy’s room. 

 

The boy even changed with the curtains open, which shocked Nico. He usually did change facing his own door, so Nico didn’t really see too much, but Nico still couldn’t understand how this boy was okay with putting his ass and muscular back on display to Nico. 

 

The one thing that really pushed Nico over the line, however, was when he came home late one night, long after the sun had set. He had left early in the morning, so he hadn’t had a chance to close his curtains. 

 

As he headed to close his curtains, he saw him again. The boy, this time, was laying propped up against pillows on his floor, completely naked, one hand wrapped around his length and three fingers of his other hand shoved up his ass. 

 

Nico stared for a moment, though he hurriedly closed his curtains, shaking his head as if trying to get the image out of his head, though he didn’t really want to. He couldn’t get the sight out of his head.

 

* * *

As he showered that night, his hand subconsciously moved down to his groin, leaning back against the porcelain, rubbing one out to the thought of that gorgeous boy’s dick. 

 

That had to be gay, didn’t he? Why else would he have his fingers up his ass? Nico really hoped he wasn’t purely a bottom. Nico was majorly a bottom, and having that boy be purely a bottom would ruin any chance with him. 

 

Not that it mattered, it wasn’t like Nico was going to talk to him or ask him out anyways. He was stupid just for considering that the boy would even consider going out with him. 

 

He just sighed as he shook his head, stepping out of the shower and getting dressed before heading to bed. 

 

* * *

Nico hadn’t had any intention to talk to the boy, and yet, he found himself face to face with the boy early that morning when he went outside to get his mail.  Mostly spam, one letter from the bank and one letter from Hazel. He had hoped maybe Papa would have sent something, but it wasn’t like Papa bothered with him much anymore. Not since Bianca had died. 

 

The boy had just walked up to get his mail as well, beaming widely at Nico like nothing was wrong as he emptied his mailbox. Nico couldn’t help but glance at his mail. He spotted several colored envelopes with stamps. Family mail, he presumed. He felt a little tinge of jealousy. 

 

“Lovely morning, isn’t it?” the boy chirped happily. 

 

Nico just shrugged and glanced up at the sky, “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

 

“That’s alright, summer rain is the best,” the boy replied happily, “Hey, I don’t think I’ve ever introduced myself. I’m Will. I’m your neighbor.” 

 

“No shit, Sherlock,” Nico replied bitterly. He tried to hold back the harsh tone, but the memory of the boy having a masturbation session and the sight of so many letters addressed to him made that damn near impossible, “You’re kind of using this mailbox. Besides, you never fucking close your curtains and my bedroom faces yours.” 

 

Will’s eyes suddenly went wide and he whispered in a worried voice, “...my bedroom window faces yours? Shit, the landlord told me that one bedroom window faced a wall and the other bedroom’s window faces someone else’s… I thought he meant that the master bedroom window faced the wall.” 

 

Nico gave Will and unimpressed look, snorting softly, “You’re not blind. Can’t you see out the damn window and see my window?” 

 

“I have really really bad long distance eyesight,” Will mumbled, all confidence melting, “My glasses broke about a day after I moved here and the new ones haven’t come back from the shop. I couldn’t see out my window. You didn’t… see anything, did you?” 

 

“I’ve seen plenty, buddy.” 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” 

 

“Maybe I didn’t want to!”, Nico found himself exclaiming without thinking, “Maybe I’m very gay and enjoy watching pretty boys’ pretty backs!” 

 

Will stared at him, Nico feeling himself slowly turn scarlet. 

 

“You’re a creep, you know that?”, Will replied teasingly, for some reason not seeming very put off by Nico’s words, winking teasingly at him, “Lucky for you, I’m a bit of an exhibitionist, and you’re just my type. Why don’t you come over tonight for a housewarming party?”

 

Nico stared at him in disbelief before huffing and heading back inside, Will calling out from behind him, “See you at eight, okay?”

 

* * *

For some reason, at seven forty five that night, Nico found himself going against his instincts, getting dressed and heading over to Will’s house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to darumasama (https://archiveofourown.org/users/darumasama/pseuds/darumasama) for the suggestion!


	22. Day 22= Spells and Toddlers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The toddler was drooling as he cuddled a plush bunny in his arms, letting out a squeal of delight, his blue eyes sparkling when he saw Nico, making grabby hands at him.

When Nico opened the door that morning, he really hadn’t expected to see Will’s little sister Kayla standing at his doorstep, holding a toddler in her arms. 

 

The toddler was drooling as he cuddled a plush bunny in his arms, letting out a squeal of delight, his blue eyes sparkling when he saw Nico, making grabby hands at him. 

 

Instinctively, Nico stepped back. He wasn’t very good with children, much less such grabby, messy, spit-covered, loud, small children. 

 

“Kayla, why have you brought this kid to my cabin? He’s going to get spit on my floor, get rid of him.” 

 

Kayla huffed at Nico, giving him a look, “This isn’t some kid, it’s Will. Lou was experimenting spells on him and this is what happened. He’s been begging for you, take him. He’s your boyfriend, after all, your responsibility.”

 

Sure enough, Will was whimpering and wriggling in Kayla’s arms, trying to reach Nico, mumbling ‘Ni-Ni’ repeatedly. 

 

“Nope. Not happening. I’m not good with kids, I don’t like him, take him away,” Nico hurriedly replied, Kayla huffing and just handing him Will, who cuddled into Nico with a happy whine. 

 

“Oh, shut up. You’ll be fine. I’ve got to run the infirmary, take care of him.”

 

“Kayla, don’t do this to me. Please? How does he even remember me? When will this wear off?” 

 

“He remembers just people, not experiences. And Lou isn’t sure, but sometime this week. Now shush, goodbye.”

 

Before Nico could even argue, Kayla left, slamming the door behind her, leaving Nico holding a baby in almost complete darkness. Will inevitably burst into tears, clinging to Nico tightly, Nico sighing and going to pull apart the curtains to let the light in. Ugh. The light flooding the cabin showed just how badly decorated it was, but at least Will calmed, just hopping his bunny up and down Nico’s arm. 

 

Nico just sighed and sat Will down on the bed. He didn’t know how on earth he was supposed to keep a small child alive and happy. At first, he thought that perhaps Will was already fed, and so he’d be free of at least one struggle, but his hopes were quickly crushed as Will began to fuss, sucking on his bunny’s ear and tugging at Nico’s sleeve to draw his attention. 

 

Nico frowned at Will, picking him back up gently. He knew from watching Will tend to the little kids in the infirmary that sucking on something meant hunger. He carried Will over to the little mini fridge he kept in his cabin. 

 

With Hazel being at Camp Jupiter, Nico was the only person from the Hades cabin and sitting alone for meals at the dining pavilion wasn’t any fun, which was why Nico had just bought this mini fridge. If he had to eat alone, at least he could eat alone in the comfort of his own cabin. 

 

“What do you want to eat?”, Nico asked Will gently as he opened the mini fridge up, showing him all the food he’d gotten from town. 

 

Will pointed to a slice of chocolate cake, Nico tutting and shaking his head, “No, no, food first, then cake.” 

 

Will whined loudly, pointing insistently at the cake. Nico gave in and did take out the cake though he took a little box of pasta in white sauce out as well. He sat Will on top of the table, getting to work feeding him, alternating between forkfuls of pasta and cake, Will seeming very happy about this. 

 

By the end of the meal, Will was somehow absolutely covered from head to toe in white sauce and chocolate frosting. Nico shook his head, carrying him to the bathroom and running Will a bath. 

 

Will busied himself by using his bunny to try to wipe the food off of himself, only resulting in smearing it all over the bunny as well. 

 

Once the bath was filled, Nico began to undress Will, struggling a little with the diaper before setting him down in the bath, Will screaming loudly as he held the bunny as high up as he could.

 

“Bath bad! Out!” he yelled. 

 

Nico grimaced, “I’m really sorry, darling. Come on, be a good boy now. Here, why don’t we play a game? I’ll wash you and you have to copy me and wash your bunny, okay?” 

 

Will regarded Nico suspiciously but nodded, and within ten minutes, both Will and the bunny were washed, though this resulted in a whole new issue. Kayla hadn’t given him another diaper. 

 

Nico just wrapped his t-shirt around Will, using safety pins to hold it in place, hoping it would hold up. He then put another shirt over Will’s head. With Nico’s shirt drowning Will in fabric, Nico had to say he looked adorable. For a moment, he almost felt bad that this was Will. He kind of wished this was a real baby, and Will was helping him take care of it. 

 

The day passed fairly quickly. Will proved to be an easy, cheerful baby that ate anything that was fed to him, though he was messy. As nighttime came around, Nico gently tucked Will into bed with his bunny, Will not even arguing as he snuggled into Nico, whining happily and closing his eyes. It wasn’t long before he drifted off. 

 

Nico couldn’t sleep, worried something would happen to Will. He stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and glancing over to Will every so often to see he was okay. At 12:01, when Nico looked over to see Will back to his teenage self, Nico smiled. While he would miss Will as a toddler, he was glad to have his boyfriend back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a bit of a rambling work. I don’t know, I’m in a mood today. Hope you enjoy anyways! Thanks to Sami for the suggestion!


	23. Day 23= Little Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He shouldn’t have let Will talk him into this in the first place. It was just a fucking bad idea. Which was why now, sitting on the Hecate cabin floor, watching everything around him growing larger and larger, he swore at the top of his lungs, though it was clear he wasn’t very loud as the Hecate kids cooed at him.

Nico knew that agreeing to let the Hecate cabin practice their spells on him was a bad idea. He’d thought that at most, they’d change his hair color or dye his skin or something like that, but no.

 

He shouldn’t have let Will talk him into this in the first place. It was just a fucking bad idea. Which was why now, sitting on the Hecate cabin floor, watching everything around him growing larger and larger, he swore at the top of his lungs, though it was clear he wasn’t very loud as the Hecate kids cooed at him.

 

They picked him up gently, and Nico really wasn’t very happy to discover that he wasn’t much bigger than Lou Ellen’s hand. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. He was tiny, and he utterly hated it.

 

Lou Ellen giggled as she gently patted Nico’s head with her thumb and Nico just flipped her off. He doubted she could even see it but it was worth a try.

 

“Hey, guys, is Nico still here with you?” Will asked as he walked into the cabin with Cecil, “Chiron is asking for him.”

 

Lou Ellen just showed Will her hand in response, and Will cooed as soon as he saw Nico, hurrying to go pick him up, “Lou, he’s so cute… I don’t know why he’s letting you live for doing this to him though, holy shit.”

 

Will giggled softly, gently setting Nico down inside of his shirt pocket. Nico could barely see over the edge of the fabric.

 

“...I’ll go tell Chiron that he’s busy today.” Cecil replied before scurrying off.

 

“How long will this last?” Will asked. His pocket was warm and Nico was actually starting to get comfortable.

 

“Only about ten hours. It should wear off after that.” Lou replied calmly, Nico letting out an inaudible squeak, though he doubted anyone had heard him.

 

“Don’t worry, Nico,” Will reassured him as he carried Nico out of the Hecate cabin, taking him back to the Hades cabin, “I won’t let anyone step on you until then.” 

 

Nico just glared at Will and wished he could see the glare. Once they reached the Hades cabin, Will set Nico down on the bed, kneeling down on the floor so he was face to face with Nico, who glared at him.

 

“Oh come on, Nico,” Will spoke gently, “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. It’ll wear off soon. I know it’s annoying, but it’s not a big deal.”

 

Nico continued to glare at him, just showing him the finger in an attempt to be as angry at Will as he possibly could despite knowing it really wasn’t Will’s fault.

 

Will just sighed, giving Nico an apologetic look, “Look, it’s getting late. Come on, let’s eat something and then try to sleep, alright?It’ll be over before you know it.”

 

Will scooped Nico up to put him in his pocket again and Nico got settled into it without complaint. It was warm and cosy and Nico didn’t feel the need to whine about it.

 

Will went to get something from the fridge in Nico’s cabin, getting out a chicken parm with asparagus and bread, sitting down at the table to start eating though he did cut tiny pieces of food out to hand to Nico so he could eat.

 

Nico ate quietly. He could feel himself grow sleepier as he ate, and once his stomach was full, he curled up into Will’s pocket happily.

 

He was awakened to Will shifting Nico into his hair, before laying down in bed, closing his eyes.

 

Will’s hair was even better than his pocket. While it was warm and cosy like the pocket, Will’s hair was also very soft and it smelt amazing. It had a slight floral, citrusy smell to it, and it wasn’t until Nico drifted off that he realized that it smelt like orange honey.

 

Nico actually managed to sleep a lot better in Will’s hair than he managed to sleep on most days. Most days, he was haunted by nightmares, and it wasn’t even worth trying to sleep. Today, however, Nico slept well.

 

Not only did he sleep well, he felt safe. For the first time in a long time, he felt safe. Which was why, when after a few hours he felt himself return to full size in his sleep, he sighed softly.

 

While he never would like to stay small, there was a certain reassurance about being that size and feeling safe.

 

Although, he thought to himself as he shifted to lie down next to Will, smiling up at him, he supposed it wasn’t as much about what size he was that made him feel comfortable, but the people he was with.

 

Will let out a mumble in his sleep, shifting slightly before he wrapped an arm around Nico and draped a leg over him protectively.

 

Yeah, definitely the people, Nico thought. He really didn’t think he’d mind getting used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Jason_Graceless (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jason_Graceless/pseuds/Jason_Graceless) for the suggestion! I’ve got a lot of shit going on in life rn so I’m sorry if my writing is crap! Im taking suggestions though, if anyone wants to suggest anything. Also, I know this one is a little short. Forgive me, I’ll write a long one on the weekend.


	24. Day 24= Cuddles and Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico nodded, managing a shaky smile as he snuggled close to Will before getting up, carrying Will to the couch and getting him comfy before going to bring them both some soup, also warming up some bread and leftover chicken before he brought that to Will, snuggling close to him as he fed him gently.

Nico felt ready to completely collapse. He’d had the most fucking difficult day he’d had in a long time. He’d stayed up all night last night finishing an assignment for his art class, and then he’d had five classes back to back from eight to one, and then he’d just had time for lunch before he’d had to work from one thirty to seven thirty, having to do a double shift because his coworker had to leave.

 

He finally trudged home to the apartment he and Will had at nearly eight. He smiled tiredly as he unlocked the door. At least he’d have Will to cuddle him and cheer him up.

 

Unfortunately though, the first thing he heard when he stepped inside was Will’s trademark loud elephant sneeze, and he peeked inside just to see Will having wrapped himself up practically every blanket they had in the house, shivering in front of the heater, his hands trembling as he tried to feed himself some soup, his eyes and nose very red.

 

Nico groaned softly as he hurriedly to make Will a hot water bottle before went to sit in front of Will, handing it to Will before he started feeding him the soup.

 

Will let out a happy whine at the warmth, Nico huffing at him, “What did I tell you last night, William Solace? What the hell did I tell you?”

 

“You said to close the window so I wouldn’t get a chill…” Will mumbled in a nasally voice, pouting like a petulant child.

 

“And what did you do?” Nico replied, his voice more annoyed and angry than it usually was, the exhaustion starting to get the better of him.

 

“...I left the window open even though it was snowing.”

 

“For fucks sake, I’m too tired to take care of you right now, why the hell can't you just listen to me for once?!”

 

“You don’t have to take care of me!” Will replied as best as he could, starting to cough violently at the raised voice.

 

“Yes I do, Will!” Nico responded, his voice only getting louder, “You’re my fucking fiancé, I don’t have anyone else in my life! What’s going to happen if you leave me too?!” He practically yelled out though his voice caved in on itself at the end, his eyes starting to well up with tears.

 

Will went silent immediately, just silently cuddling Nico close, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead, “Hey, listen to me. I’m never going to leave you, okay? I’m here. I love you.”

 

Nico just sniffled quietly, rubbing at his eyes and pressing a kiss to Will’s cheek before nodding slowly, “Yeah... Yeah, I love you lots too... I’m sorry, I’m just so tired...”

 

“I know, darling. I’m sorry for not listening to you and getting sick. I made extra soup. Go get some and we can cuddle on the couch and watch some Tangled, or Big Hero 6, alright?”

 

Nico nodded, managing a shaky smile as he snuggled close to Will before getting up, carrying Will to the couch and getting him comfy before going to bring them both some soup, also warming up some bread and leftover chicken before he brought that to Will, snuggling close to him as he fed him gently.

 

Will seemed to calm from the warmth of the cuddles and the soup, opening his blanket burrito to grant Nico entrance into it, Nico giggling softly as he cuddled into the blanket burrito.

 

Will reached for the remote and turned on the TV before putting Tangled on Netflix. Nico smiled, letting out a happy sigh as he fed Will spoonfuls of soup and pieces of chicken and bread, feeding himself as well.

 

Will pressed a kiss to Nico’s head again, and even though Nico realized it was probably going to get him sick as well, he did lean up slightly to press a gentle kiss to Will’s lips.

 

Will chuckled, and the movie was forgotten as Nico climbed into Will’s lap, running his fingers lovingly through his hair, covering his face in gentle kisses.

 

Will reciprocated by rubbing Nico’s back adoringly, whispering quietly, “You’re going to get sick if you keep kissing me, you know?”

 

“I know,” Nico whispered quietly, “But I don’t really care. I love you too much to care. Besides, I’m not working tomorrow.”

 

“That doesn’t mean you should let me get you sick, you know?”

 

“Yes it does. Get me all germy so I can skip class tomorrow without lying so we can have a nice lazy day tomorrow, just sprawled on the couch doing nothing but eating junk food and cuddling and watching movies.”

 

Will rolled his eyes fondly, though he did lean forward to press his lips against Nico’s lovingly, Nico kissing back as best as he could. He was exhausted, he wanted to collapse, but at the same time, he had never felt so alive.

 

It was moments like these that he was glad he hadn’t listened to the darker thoughts he had back when Bianca died.

 

It was times like these he was glad he was alive. Just to kiss his fiancé and cuddle him and watch kids movies with him and then maybe talk about how they wanted their wedding to be when they graduated and had the money for everything they wanted.

 

It was times like these where everything just seemed a little less dark, and a little more hopeful.

 

Nico clung to Will with desperation, Will eventually pulling away and whispering quietly, “Okay, I love you and all, but the next scene has my favorite song in it. So as much as I love you, Rapunzel comes first.”

 

Nico chuckled and returned to just cuddling Will’s side, smiling fondly at him as Will began to sing “When Will My Life Begin” happily, his nasally, croaky voice showing just how sick he was.

 

Nico didn’t care though. He thought Will’s singing was utterly beautiful. Though perhaps, he thought, he was just the tiniest bit biased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to applepikozume (https://archiveofourown.org/users/applepikozume/pseuds/applepikozume) for the idea! I’m still taking a few suggestions if anyone has any ideas!


	25. Day 25= Asexual! Nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had been dating Will for almost three years now, and he just didn’t know why he had to find out he was broken now. Will would never stay with him if he’d found out...

Nico was broken. He was broken and he didn’t know what was wrong with him, or how the hell he was supposed to fix it.

 

He had been dating Will for almost three years now, and he just didn’t know why he had to find out he was broken now. Will would never stay with him if he’d found out...

 

Yesterday... yesterday had been a big day for both of them. Most of the camp was playing Capture the Flag, and Chiron, having a bit of a soft spot for Will, had let him and Nico stay back in the Hades cabin.

 

Being a teenager with a boyfriend of two years, Will had approached Nico, had started kissing him and touching him and for a while, Nico felt so loved and amazing.

 

And then, Will had moved his hands slowly down to Nico’s hips and Nico hadn’t minded. Will moved his hands to Nico’s groin, massaging it gently, and Nico felt nothing. If anything, he just felt mildly uncomfortable.

 

Will had frowned at that, looking up at Nico quietly, and Nico hadn’t known the words to respond to Will’s look. After all, what was he even supposed to say? He’d overheard people talk about sex enough. He knew it was supposed to feel amazing and he was supposed to get hard and crave it as soon as Will touched his groin, but he just didn’t. He felt nothing.

 

“I’m sorry,” was all that Nico managed to say, and Will looked slightly confused though he had just quietly suggested that they maybe just play some Mythomagic and cuddle and Nico had smiled and nodded and gone to get out his Mythomagic cards.

 

Will had played with him, though he was a lot more silent than he usually was, and Nico was convinced he didn’t want someone as broken as Nico, even if he didn’t explicitly say so.

 

And today... today, Will had completely avoided him. Nico joined Will at breakfast, Will said good morning to him but said he had to go to the infirmary. Nico had visited him at the infirmary, Will said he was busy. Nico had asked Will to have lunch together, Will said he wasn’t hungry. And now, as dinner time approached, Will still hadn’t responded to him.

 

Will was going to break up with him. Nico was sure of it. All Nico wanted was for someone to explain to him what the fuck was wrong with his body and brain, that didn’t want him to have sex.

 

Nico quietly just sat down in his cabin, clearing up the Mythomagic cards from last night. Nico’d won the game, as usual. Will was great at science, but his math was terrible, which made for a hard time when doubling up powers and using stat multipliers.

 

He sighed softly. There was a knock on the cabin door and Nico went to get it. Will was standing outside, looking at Nico apologetically, “Hey. Sorry I’ve been busy all day, can we talk?”

 

Nico nodded, moving aside to let him in.

 

“About yesterday...” Will spoke gently, “I didn’t mean to push you. I get it, you’re from the forties, you’re probably not used to this kinda stuff, I’m really sorry.”

 

Nico blinked at him for a moment before shaking his head, “You’re sorry? What the hell are you sorry for, you dork? I’m the one who should be sorry, I know people are meant to get turned on and all that stuff at the mention of you know... sex, but it just... I don’t know. My body just didn’t care.”

 

Will frowned at that, suddenly looking a lot more hesitant and self conscious, “...you’re sure you’re gay, right? It can’t just be... you don’t not find me attractive, right?”

 

Nico stared at Will in disbelief before huffing loudly and shoving him gently, “Of course I find you attractive. You’re gorgeous and I’m very happy you’re my boyfriend and I love when you touch me and kiss me and cuddle me but sex... I don’t know, I just didn’t really care about it.”

 

Will looked at Nico curiously, pulling him into his arms to cuddle, “So basically, you’re ace?”

 

“Uh... is that a compliment? Thank you, I guess.”

 

Will giggled at that, shaking his head, “It’s not a compliment. It’s kinda like a sexuality. It’s when you don’t like sex or just don’t care enough about it.”

 

“...I already know my sexuality though, I’m gay.”

 

“You can be both, you know. Homoromantic and asexual. Love doesn’t always mean sex.”

 

Nico looked at Will in confusion, just shaking his head apologetically, “I’m really sorry, but I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. And even if I did... I don’t think I know enough about myself right now to give you a response.”

 

Will, smiled at that, nodding reassuringly at Nico, “Well, it’s not a race and I’m in no rush. I mean, I do really wanna have sex myself, but sex still isn’t as important as you are. And well, I’ve got hands for a reason.”

 

Nico looked at Will in surprise before smiling and asking curiously, “So... you’re not upset with me for not wanting to... you know... do the do with you?”

 

Will laughed softly at the wording before shaking his head, “Of course not. Why would I be upset about you not wanting sex? Like I said, I like the idea of sex but I just like you more.”

 

“Yeah, But... I’m not the perfect boyfriend you probably want.”

 

“Nico, don’t be ridiculous. I could search my whole life and not find a perfect boyfriend. Look, maybe we don’t feel the same on the sex front, but sex isn’t pivotal for me. Being asexual isn’t a flaw. It’s just... something to get used to. And I’ll get used to it. And it’ll be fine. I mean, we went two years without sex, we’ll manage.”

 

Nico smiled at that and just took Will’s hand, squeezing it gently, “In that case... you up for another game of Mythomagic?”

 

“Oh, Death Boy, you’re so on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to ffoodie for the suggestion! I’ve got prompts for tomorrow and day after and for the last day, but I still have two open spots to take prompts!


	26. Day 26= Giggles and Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every night, after dinner, Will would gather all of the little kids and anyone else who wanted to listen, which there rarely was, around the campfire and told the kids fun stories about the adventures of a pirate kitten and a princess bunny, filled with witty jokes and adorableness.

Nico realized that it probably wasn’t smart for him to get as close to Will as he was getting. It had only been a week since the war had ended, and already, Nico felt himself growing attached to the son of Apollo. To be fair, Will had insisted on spending a lot of time with Nico, for medical purposes, but still.

 

Nico found himself thinking about Will’s gorgeous hair and pretty eyes and freckled skin and skilled hands and he blushed. The most adorable thing about Will, however, was how amazing he was with kids. Will was absolutely mind blowingly amazing with kids, not even just with his own siblings.

 

After the war, most of the little kids who had witnessed the fighting, even if they hadn’t taken part in it, had nightmares, struggled to sleep, were constantly scared. And Will, being the healer that he was, had taken it upon himself to help them.

 

Every night, after dinner, Will would gather all of the little kids and anyone else who wanted to listen, which there rarely was, around the campfire and told the kids fun stories about the adventures of a pirate kitten and a princess bunny, filled with witty jokes and adorableness. Whatever Will lacked in singing ability, he made up for in storytelling ability.

 

The kids were always entranced in Will’s stories. Yesterday had been a grim day for everyone. Nico had taken to helping in the infirmary, and he’d watched as all of the Apollo kids operated on almost eight of the kids that had gotten badly wounded in the war. The surgeries had gone well, but they were painful, and the mood was somber.

 

Today, Will had called a very special storytime. Nico, who hated eating with people, had gotten some food for himself from his cabin and had sat down to listen to Will’s stories. Will had put himself back into the overly cheery persona he embodied so well and began telling the kids the dramatic tale of how the princess bunny went to town dressed up like a commoner. Will’s story, while directed at kids, was utterly brilliant, as usual. He had a lot more jokes in it though, and Nico found himself struggling to hold back from laughing.

 

“And then, when Mr. Billy Goat was being rude to Princess Bunny o’Hare, you know what she did?”, Will asked the kids in a cheery voice, “She took the carrot and she stuffed it straight up the goat’s nose, and she huffed loudly and said, ‘Well, no wonder Mr. Sheep stopped helping you! You’re nothing but a no good meanie, Mr. Billy Goat!’, and then she flounced off, nose in the air while Mr. Billy Goat stared at her, before sneezing the carrot straight out of his nose.”

 

Nico didn’t know why that struck him as so funny, but he couldn’t help but to start giggling, trying his best to restrain himself. As all the little kids started giggling too though, Nico was unable to hold back anymore and he began wildly laughing, cackling madly and snorting like a wild hog while somehow simultaneously sounding like a dying wolf howling.

 

Will stared at him for a moment before he started laughing as well. The sound of Will’s adorable tinkling laugh against Nico’s dorky, dying-horse-wolf-duck-pig laugh was utterly atrocious, and Nico hurried to shut himself up, gasping for air and wrapping his arms around his chest as he quietened down, looking at Will apologetically.

 

Will slowly stopped laughing too, looking at Nico with fond, wide eyes though he hurriedly directed his attention back to what happened to the princess bunny.

 

When the story was over and Will gently told the kids to go get ready for bed, Nico stood up.

 

“Your laugh is adorable,” Will said with a smile as he stood up as well, walking alongside Nico, “It’s so cute.”

 

“Nothing about me is in any way cute or adorable, William,” Nico declared with a small huff, “especially not my gods awful laugh. I sound like a dying animal. I hate it.”

 

“Oh come on. It really isn’t that bad. I really like it, I think it’s really cute, actually. It’s a little strange, yeah, but it’s so unique!”

 

“By strange you mean it’s damn weird and I should never ever laugh again because nobody wants to hear it.”

 

“I wanna hear it,” Will huffed softly, pouting at Nico, “Cmon, gimme a laugh, I love your laugh.”

 

“No you don’t.” Nico insisted, Will huffing and speaking hurriedly.

 

“Fine. A Roman walks into a bar, holds up two fingers and asks for five beers.”

 

Nico blinked at Will before he started chuckling softly, though he did try to choke his laugh back as best as he could. Will was stubborn, however, as he walked Nico back to his cabin.

 

“Okay, okay, you’ll like this one,” Will said before clearing his throat, “Okay, knock knock.”

 

“I’m not helping you with this, Will.”

 

“Oh, come on. Play along.”

 

“Fine. Who’s there?”

 

“Old lady?”

 

“Old lady who?”

 

“Oh, I didn’t know you could yodel.”

 

That one was weak and Will knew it. Nico rolled his eyes fondly, kissing Will gently, “Nonsense. That one was pathetic. Come on, think of another one.”

 

“Okay, gimme a minute. What’s the difference between a gross bus station and a crab with boobs?”

 

“Will, gross. I don’t wanna think about that.”

 

“Come onnnnnn.”

 

“I don’t know, Will. What is it?”

 

“One’s a crusty bus station and the other one is a busty crustacean!”

 

Nico giggled at that, and it wasn’t long before he burst into his loud, dorky, snorty laugh, and Will beamed widely as he looked at Nico, seeming very proud of himself as Nico doubled over laughing as they walked.

 

It was a solid few minutes before Nico calmed down from all of his laughter, and by the time he had, they had reached the Hades cabin.

 

“You have a great laugh.” Will said gently, smiling at Nico.

 

“Not as pretty as yours though,” Nico whispered gently, hesitating for a moment before he kissed Will’s cheek gently, hurriedly running inside the Hades cabin before Will could say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Quxxnrandomness (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quxxnrandomness/pseuds/Quxxnrandomness) for the prompt. Guys, I have space for one last prompt if anyone wants to suggest anything?


	27. Day 27= Littlespace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He walked into the apartment he shared with his fiancé, only to see Nico wrapped up in pretty much all the blankets they had at home, only his face and hair showing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, disclaimer before anyone reads this, please don’t leave negative comments on the subject matter of this. Critique my art style or word choice, I’m all for it, but please not the subject matter. Thanks!

Will pushed his key into the door and turned it until the door clicked before pulling it back out and putting it in his pocket. He was in a fairly good mood today, he only had three classes on Tuesday, so he was free for the day by lunch.

 

He walked into the apartment he shared with his fiancé, only to see Nico wrapped up in pretty much all the blankets they had at home, only his face and hair showing.

 

He was sucking at a pacifier as he watched Winnie the Pooh and Will smiled. It was going to be one of those days. He loved these days, when Nico stopped being bitter and angry and upset and just let everything go. He was honored to have Nico trust him enough to let him see him like this.

 

Nico was so engrossed in the show that he didn’t even notice Will come in until Will sat down next to him, which was when Nico climbed into Will’s lap with a soft whine.

 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Will said softly as he ran his fingers through Nico’s hair, kissing his cheek gently, “I missed you lots.”

 

“Missed you...,” Nico mumbled quietly back with the slight lisp he usually got whenever he was in this headspace. Will found it adorable and endearing.

 

“Have you eaten anything yet, darling? You know you have to eat lots of food to keep you nice and strong.”

 

“Already nice and strong..,” Nico replied with a soft whimper, burying his face in his chest, pouting at Will.

 

“I know you are, darling, but you’re going to have to keep eating lots if you wanna stay nice and strong. Now come on, what do you wanna eat?” Will asked as he gently picked Nico up, holding him on his hip.

 

Nico kept his face buried in the crook of Will’s neck, mumbling, “Dino nuggies...”

 

Will smiled at that and nodded, gently setting Nico down on the counter as he got to work frying him up some dinosaur shaped nuggets and French fries.

 

Once they were ready, he carried Nico back to the couch, keeping him on his lap as he got to work feeding Nico, who ate without complaint, only fussing and refusing to eat any more once he was full and tired.

 

Will always thought Nico was endlessly adorable when he was in headspace, though when he was full and content and sleepy, that just really took the cake for the most adorable a person could ever be.

 

Nico yawned widely, putting the pacifier back into his mouth and getting to work sucking at it as he grew sleepy, and Will rocked Nico gently, singing lovingly to him.

 

Nico yawned, stretching with a loud whine before he burrowed back into Will and it wasn’t long before he fell asleep, sucking at the pacifier.

 

Will went to tuck him in with all of the stuffed toys they had in the house before he headed back to the kitchen and made himself some lunch as well. Nico seemed in a less demanding mood than he usually was in headspace and Will doubted he’d be too upset at Will leaving for a bit.

 

Will finished a quick meal of a turkey and cheese toastie and some leftover fries before he went to make a giant blanket fort in the living room. He wanted Nico to be as comfortable as humanly possible when he awoke.

 

He gathered all of the pillows and blankets in the house apart from the ones Nico was using, and began to stack them all up in the living room, making a comfy, smooshy nest for Nico to cuddle in when he awoke. After that was done, he headed to the kitchen to start making some hot chocolate and some popcorn, pouring half of the hot chocolate into the sippy cup Nico enjoyed when in headspace.

 

Just as he had put that into the fort as well, he heard Nico fussing in the room and went to go check on him. Nico was cuddled up to the stuffed toys, wailing softly, Will hurrying to go pick him up.

 

“Oh, my baby, are you okay, darling?” Will cooed at him, rocking him gently.

Nico slowly began to relax at all of the cuddles and love and rocking though he shook his head with a sad sniffle, “...scary... want stay with Daddy...”

 

Will kissed the top of Nico’s head, giving him a reassuring look, “I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry. I’m sorry for leaving for a bit, I was just making you a really special surprise. Does my good boy wanna see his surprise?”

 

Nico looked up at Will hopefully at that, nodding slowly, Will smiling and carrying him to the living room to show him the fort. Nico gasped softly, letting out a happy whine and bouncing in Will’s arms as he pointed to the fort.

 

“Come on, darling, let’s go play,” Will said gently as he carried Nico into the fort, setting him down inside of it before sitting down next to him, Nico whining happily again and getting to work eating popcorn, squealing in delight at the sippy cup, putting it into his mouth as he pressed his face into Will’s chest.

 

Will snuggled Nico close, rubbing his back gently and whispering gently, “Such a good boy, you’re my very bestest boy. Does that taste alright, angel?”

 

Nico nodded and let out an appreciative whine from around the sippy cup, Will reaching for the remote. He had left a gap in the front of the fort so that they’d be able to watch TV while inside the fort.

 

He turned on Winnie the Pooh again and watched fondly as Nico stared at the screen with wide, awed eyes, humming along to the songs, seeming the slightest bit more excited whenever Christopher Robin came on screen.

 

Will kissed the top of his head gently. He really did love his wonderful fiancé,both in headspace and out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Anonymous for the idea!


	28. Day 28= Royalty AU (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will took a deep breath as the carriage pulled up to a giant castle. It was beautiful, far larger and grander than most of the places Will had previously worked at. Perhaps, he thought, this wouldn’t be as bad as he had first imagined.

Will took a deep breath as the carriage pulled up to a giant castle. It was beautiful, far larger and grander than most of the places Will had previously worked at. Perhaps, he thought, this wouldn’t be as bad as he had first imagined.

 

He was escorted from the carriage to the castle gates by a butler, who also carried the small bag Will had been allowed to bring with him. Will tried not to think about how that was the only thing he had left from home. After his mother had died, it hadn’t been long before his father signed the agreement to allow Will to work in the castle in order to be able to feed Will’s younger siblings. Will was just hopeful that his pay would be enough that his younger siblings wouldn’t have to work.

 

The inside was as beautiful as the outside was. The castle was decorated with grand portraits and gold chandeliers and expensive furniture. He spotted a small marbled dish with gold edges that he knew his mother would have adored, had she seen it. She always had a weak spot for marble.

 

He was led to his room in the servants quarters. The servants quarters were a lot better than Will was used to, if a bit simple. They consisted of about fifty individual bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms. Will’s bedroom was at the very end of the room.

 

“This is your bedroom,” the butler commented as he opened the door, revealing a simple, clean room with white walls, “You are to stay in the servants quarters until supper time. There are clothes in the dresser, wash and change before supper. I will send someone to come fetch you when the bell rings for supper. I know you have been called to work here for the Prince. Fair warning, however, the prince is temperamental. Behave in front of him, you’re to be his personal assistant as it is, and you’ll be spending most of your day with him.”

 

Will just nodded quietly as the butler handed him the room key. The room was pretty, Will thought. It had a dark bed with blue sheets, a dark bedside table and a shelf for Will’s belongings along with a dresser and a mirror and even a carpet and a small space heater for the winter. Will was grateful for that. Pluto was a far colder country than Will was used to, and he didn’t fare well in the cold.

 

Will sat down on the bed, which was surprisingly soft, and got to work unpacking his clothes onto the shelf. Once everything was unpacked, which didn’t take very long, he headed to the bathroom and took a quick bath. The hair products in the bath were wonderful, and Will was quite grateful for the gentleness of the soap. Once he was clean, he got dressed in the simple clothes he had been provided in his room.

 

It wasn’t long before he heard the bell chime for supper and he waited patiently in his room until a maid came to escort him to the kitchen.

 

As it turned out, there were two dining tables, one for the servants and the other for the royal family. Since Will wasn’t serving the food, he was allowed to sit at the servants table and eat. The food was delicious and Will ate a lot more than he had been able to eat in years.

 

Once he was done eating, he was then guided to the prince’s bedroom, though he was not accompanied there. Will’s hand trembled as he walked through the halls, finally reaching what he thought was the prince’s door, knocking hesitantly on it.

 

The prince opened, and Will resisted the urge to gasp. He was utterly gorgeous. He had dark hair and eyes but pale skin, and he didn’t look much older than sixteen or seventeen, which was around Will’s age as well.

 

“Oh,” he said with a frown, “It’s you. You can come inside, if you want. Sorry about all this, I hate the idea of getting people as birthday presents but it’s easy money for you, I suppose.”

 

Will just blinked at him and nodded mutely, walking into the room, where the prince had clearly been working on some sort of canvas painting. He sat back down to paint, paying no attention to Will, who just silently stood in the corner.

 

“Could you please change the paint water for me?”, the prince asked kindly, and Will hurriedly went to change the paint water, returning with clean water and gently placing it down next to the prince.

 

“I hate this piece,” the prince commented as he scowled at his painting, “I’m sick of painting Cerberus. He’s just a lump of black fur. Could you model for me?”

 

“...model..?” Will asked curiously, unsure of the word.

 

“Yeah. Just sit down over there and let me paint you. Please?”

 

Will blushed slightly but sat down to let the prince paint him, and the prince wasted no time in starting to do so. He was silent as he worked, and Will didn’t dare break the silence.

 

It was quite a while, about two hours according to the clock in the prince’s room before he finished the rough sketch of what would become his painting. He beamed as he looked at it.

 

“Hey, this actually looks pretty cool. Okay, cool, be back here tomorrow by noon? I’ll be done with lessons by then. My name’s Nico, by the way. And you can talk, you know.”

 

Will smiled at Nico, nodding, “I’ll be here. I’m Will. Thank you for being so good to me.”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re human, I’m just being a decent person.”

 

“Well... you’d be surprised how many people aren’t. Am I excused, your majesty?”

 

“Sure, I guess. And Will... if we’re going to get along, you oughtn’t call me your majesty. I’m Nico. Just Nico. Deal?”

 

Will grinned at that. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy staying here.

 

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Jason_Graceless (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jason_Graceless/pseuds/Jason_Graceless) and Pilosa (https://archiveofourown.org/users/pilosa/pseuds/pilosa) for the suggestion!


	29. Day 29= Space AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico looked at the tracker he had on his phone, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. This planet was far larger than Pluto was, and Nico was bound to get lost. He’d been sent by his father, the king, to these Apollan lands to improve diplomatic relations, but he didn’t know how he was supposed to do that when he couldn’t even find the palace.

This planet was strange. That was the first thing Nico thought as he jumped off of Mrs. O Leary’s back onto the practically broiling planet. It had taken a lot of specialized creams and clothes for Nico to manage not to scald, but he was still uncomfortable. Even Neptune had been better than this, and Nico didn’t even have gills like Percy did. 

 

Nico patted Mrs. O Leary’s head. “Stay here for me, girl. I’ll be back soon.” Mrs. O Leary nodded, resting her head on the planet floor, unaffected by the weather.

 

Nico looked at the tracker he had on his phone, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. This planet was far larger than Pluto was, and Nico was bound to get lost. He’d been sent by his father, the king, to these Apollan lands to improve diplomatic relations, but he didn’t know how he was supposed to do that when he couldn’t even find the palace.

 

His scales ached too, and began to take on the raven tone they gained whenever he was in pain. He needed to find the palace fast.

 

He walked through the seemingly endless buildings and sand. This planet, Nico realized with distate and mild jealousy, was far more developed than Pluto. They even had automobiles, though to be fair, Pluto was an ancient planet, and its roads had never been constructed with automobiles in mind. The paths were far too narrow for those metal beasts, though they did have a surplus of metals, with metals being their largest export, followed shortly by gemstones.

 

As he walked, he looked at the people. They didn’t have scales, which didn’t surprise Nico. It wasn’t cold enough here to need them. They didn’t have fur either, again, no surprise. Instead, their bodies only seemed breathable and flexible and colored lightly as to not overheat. Nico wished he had that right now, he could feel his feet start to blister slightly.

 

“Excuse me,” he asked one of the natives, “would you know how to get to the palace?”

 

He looked a Nico in confusion before pointing at the building right next to them, “You’re already here, buddy.”

 

Nico blinked at the building. It seemed more like a shopping center or an office than a palace, though he just nodded gratefully and headed inside. He let out a sigh of relief as he walked through the doors and felt a cool floor under his feet.

 

The natives to this land had very thick soles, so they wouldn’t be affected by the cool floor. He felt his own scales shift from raven to porcelain. He was immediately greeted by an overly cheery gatekeeper, and Nico felt his talons extend instinctively. His species wasn’t nearly as friendly as this land’s seemed to be.

 

Still, he remained neutral and allowed himself to be led to a conference room. Nobody entered for a while, and Nico began to feel stupid, worrying that nobody would come. Luckily, however, it wasn’t long before someone walked into the room. He had neon yellow fur lining his hair and neck, rare for someone in this climate, and he sat down, grinning at Nico. His teeth, when he smiled, Nico noticed, were not very sharp. Not a meat eater, common enough for an agricultural planet.

 

“Hey,” he spoke in a smooth, buttery voice, “I’m Prince Will, my father’s currently preoccupied in other matters, how can I help you?”

 

“I’m from Pluto,” Nico replied, “I’m the prince of Pluto, I was sent here to speak to you about relations between our planets.”

 

Will’s face scrunched in annoyance and specific spots on his face began to glow, “Oh. Perhaps it was not wise for you to come here. The war is not yet over, as I’m sure you know.”

 

“I am aware.”

 

“Then why did you come here, Prince of Pluto?”

 

“Like I said, I am here to address the relations between our planets. The war has gone on for too many years. We need Apollan customers for our exports, and I’m sure you know our army is more advanced, and our species is more hostile. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to lose more civilians. All lives lost in this pointless war are lives wasted.”

 

Will was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly, “Yes. That is true. However, if we withdraw our weapons, how do we know you will not continue fighting?”

 

“Because you have me.”

 

“...what?”

 

“You have me. I’ve been sent with the message that if you need proof of our planet’s intent for pacifism, I am to stay here, under your security. As I’m sure you’re aware, I am Pluto’s only heir. If we continue to fight, you kill me, and when my father dies, you seize your opportunity to take our land.”

 

Will was quiet for a moment, examining Nico before holding his hand out. It was fair, and thick skinned, with no noticeable claws or talons. He looked at Nico expectantly and Nico placed his hand onto Will’s, resisting the urge to stick his talons out and cut Will’s hand clean off.

 

Will nodded, moving his hand away, “I can sense no mal intent. Thank you. Our people have suffered too long. Let me call our scribe for you, he’ll write up a document to confirm the peace treaty.”

 

Nico let out a sigh of relief at that, smiling and nodding, “Alright. Would you still like me to stay or would you not perhaps mind if I returned to Pluto to take care of my father?”

 

“No, you shan’t be going back for a while. It’ll be a few months of waiting, at least, just to confirm your government’s intent. Of course, however, since you seem like you mean well, you shall be treated well. I look forward to getting to know you better, Prince Nico of Pluto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! AO3 wouldn’t work last night and I couldn’t get this up! Thanks to Charlie666 for the suggestion!


	30. Day 30= Royal AU (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was that day when he went to Nico’s room that he found Nico huddled up under layers of blankets, setting up figurines on the floor, grinning when he saw Will.

The months had passed quickly and painlessly. Will’s only job was to tend to Nico and Nico never wanted much, other than for someone to model for him, or for someone to order him food or bring his food upstairs from the kitchen. The most labor intensive thing Will had been asked to do was to take Cerberus for a walk around the gardens, and he had quite enjoyed it, even if Cerberus was a big, lazy dog who had to be dragged because he refused to walk.

 

Will ate well, and put on a good few pounds, he couldn’t even see his ribs any longer.

 

Nico had finished his painting and it had, as expected, turned out gorgeous. Will adored it. He looked so majestic in that painting, far prettier than he was.

 

It was that day when he went to Nico’s room that he found Nico huddled up under layers of blankets, setting up figurines on the floor, grinning when he saw Will.

 

“Hey,” he said, smiling even though his nose was scarlet and his allergies were clearly acting up, “you wanna play Mythomagic with me?”

 

Will smiled and nodded. He had played Mythomagic before, when he had been a child in primary school. It was a simple game, and allowed for them both to talk as they played.

 

“So, Will, tell me more about yourself.”

 

“What more is there to tell? I’ve already told you, I don’t have much to me. I’ve got five siblings. My favorite color is the yellow-orange of dawn. My favorite animal is the rabbit. My hair is forever unmanageable.”

 

Nico laughed at that, giving Will a look, “You’ve got a lot more to you than you’re letting on. Also, your hair isn’t that bad.”

 

“You should see it in the morning,” Will replied with a chuckle.

 

Nico grinned at Will, giving him a cheeky look, “I would quite like to, including all that that implies.”

 

Will felt himself blush scarlet, playfully shoving Nico gently, “You oughtn’t talk like that. What would your father think?”

 

“Damn what my father thinks,” Nico replied with a grin, “He doesn’t approve of me and you being friends either, but a boy’s gotta do what a boy’s gotta do.”

 

Will hummed in agreement, taking one of Nico’s pieces off of the board, making Nico pout and playfully shove Will, though he did sit on the floor next to Will, leaning heavily into Will and letting out a happy whine.

 

“True. But you’re forgetting I still work for your father and I doubt he’d want me to keep my job if I kept being all touchy felt with his son. So, just saying, we ought to keep some distance.”

 

“Like I said, damn everything that he says, and damn him. You aren’t staff, Will. You’re so so much more than that. If I had my way, you wouldn’t be staff.”

 

“Oh? And what would I be then?”, Will asked with a tinge of playfulness to his voice.

 

Nico just blushed at that, shrugging and mumbling quietly, “I don’t know. Depends on what you’re willing to be. I mean, you could stay just as my friend, or...”

 

“Or what?”

 

“Well... you know I’m turning eighteen soon.Papa’s trying to get me married off to some princess somewhere. I can’t be bothered, you know I have a distaste for women, at least in an intimate sense.”

 

“Yes, Nico, I know. Well, what are you going to do? The only princes other than you are prince Jason and prince Percy and may I remind you, they’re both married.”

 

“I know that, you dork. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

 

“I’m sorry, I just don’t follow.”

 

“...I just meant... I mean, you mentioned once kissing a boy, did you not? Wouldn’t it be more convenient if we just... you know, got married? I mean, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting kicked out, I could help your family without Papa getting upset with me, we could cuddle together at night instead of having to meet up in the gardens where it’s always freezing...”

 

Will blinked at Nico in surprise before his eyes welled up with tears. He tried his best not to cry, he didn’t want Nico to think he cried easily, but the idea of not having to work anymore, of knowing his family would be taken care of, of knowing a literal prince wanted him, especially that the prince was Nico, the boy who’d grown to be his best friend over the last dozen months... it was too much to even hope for.

 

“...your family will never let you. I’ve got no royal blood in me. Your family won’t want you to dilute the purity of your bloodline.”

 

Nico snorted at that, giving Will a look, “Will, my bloodline is about as pure as bog water. Hazel and I were both born out of wedlock and everyone knows it. Neither of us look like each other or like the Queen. People talk now, they’ll talk later too, I don’t care.”

 

Will chewed his lip before nodding slowly, “Well... if you’ll have me, I would quite enjoy that. After all, Nico... I’ve really had a good time with you.”

 

Nico smiled, “If I wouldn’t have you, I wouldn’t have offered, you big dingus. I’ve had a really good time with you too, Will. So... shall I talk to Papa about it and hope he reacts well, or should we just sneak off to the courthouse and tell him when it’s too late?”

 

Will shrugged, smiling at Nico, “Whatever you want, Nico.”

 

Nico just smiled back at Will, and pressed their lips together gently. When Nico pulled away, he smiled up at Will and Will smiled back.

 

“I’ve loved you for a while, you know?” Will whispered gently.

 

“I’ve known for quite a while.” Nico replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, it’s finally over! I loved doing this, I really did, but my life is a bit of a mess right now, so trying to balance writing with school and homework and exams and medical issues was a bit of a struggle. Anyways, kudos and comments help out a lot, I really hope you all enjoyed reading this!


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